How orphan boys play
by MangaMistress
Summary: Was going to be sqequel to 'Yummy Tummy' but decided to try something different. NarutoXGaaraXSai Warning: Shota action, pedeophilia in later chapeters Childhood trauma and angst but some very sweet moments between the boys Summary inside. Enjoy
1. Interviews

Summary: Naruto, Gaara and Sai have been orphans together all their lives. THey look out for each other, keep one another safe and play like little boys do. They'd stay together always. When the news of all three being adopted suddenly pops up it drives to stay closer than ever. (Even though they all live on the same block) Will they be able to break free of the emotional cages and accpet their adopters or will the world that's already been so cruel to them swallow them up?

AN: This is a new style of Naruto fanfic i'm trying out where the manga pretty much has no part in it. Let me know what you think of the first installment and tell me if i should keep it going.

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The headmistress' office of Konoha orphanage was a strange place. All four walls were whiter than fresh snow despite their years of service. A thick black streak ran from one end of the door, all along the walls and met at the other side of the door, creating some sort of band that held the old room together. Various glass vases were adorned with beautiful red roses which helped to bring the contrast of colours closer together. Iruka couldn't help but notice how the deep velvet petals were almost identical to the colour of the head mistress' eyes.

"Good afternoon, Kurenia-Sensei" beamed the bronze guest. She looked up form her papers, her ebony locks had grown longer and now curled over her shoulders.

"Iruka, I have known you since you were ten. Please, call me by my name only for once" They smiled, both knowing full well that would never happen. They could greet each other a thousand times over and it would still come out the same.

Iruka sat himself in the visitors chair in front of the desk. Kurenia reclined in her own; grateful for the break from her tedious paper work. "I think we can skip the usual formalities" she said casually. "A little birdie told me you're looking to adopt?" Iruka just let his elbows rest on his knees, allowing the weight of his reassuring smile to confirm her query. Kurenia pressed the small button on the corner of her desk. It gave it's usual crackled buzz. "Arashiro-San, would you please prepare some tea for myself and my guest?" There was a quick 'thank you' exchange and Kurenia was able to give her full attention to her old resident. Although, she preferred to refer him as a friend, despite Iruka's need for formalities.

"Before we get started, tell me, how is the teaching business going for you? I heard you became fully qualified with your own class a few years ago" Freshly brewed tea was brought into the office as Iruka chatted freely about his experiences as the pre-school teacher at the academy. It was surprisingly more difficult to qualify than he originally anticipated. Far more advanced than the qualifications he would have earned if teaching adolescents. But, it had been worth it. Kids at that age were more interesting anyway. Their young minds were open to multiple concepts about the world around them. Plus, they were never afraid to ask something which left Iruka in a few embarrassing situations over the years but wouldn't trade for anything. Kurenia sipped the remains from her cup.

"Well, I'm glad to see my class clown is sharing wisdom with the next generation" she giggled and sat the cup down. "I guess we need to be serious at the moment though. Why do you wish to adopt?" There was a brief moment where Iruka just glanced from to corner to corner on the ceiling; a trait Kurenia knew too well was Iruka's unconscious way of saying he was embarrassed. "Have I ever laughed at your opinion before?" She said, easily reading his thoughts like a large font book.

"Well," he smiled sheepishly, "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. The idea just came to me. But, if I have to give a specific reason then, I guess it's like a small voice I can hear in the distance saying, 'please give me a home'." He scratched the back on his head, a deep blush spreading over the scar on his nose. "You think I've finally gone around the bend right?" He laughed. But there was nothing funny about it from Kurenia's point of view. For as long as she's known Iruka, she'd noticed his strange sixth sense for those in need. He was always the one that found the missing kid during their class field trips years ago that sometimes she often considered hiring him for that job alone.

Adoption was almost inevitable for Iruka. Kurenia reached into her left hand drawer and pulled out several folders. She ruffled though them quickly and handed over one marked with a orange sticker. The identification photo showed a bright blued eyed boy with a crooked grin and hair that rivalled the yellow of a sunflower. What caught Iruka's eye the most though were the strange black marks on both sides of his face.

"So what's his story?" Iruka asked without looking up. The boy seemed normal enough but that drawer had those folders in it for a reason.

"Not much" she answered dryly. He came here one night in the middle of the rain asking to use the bathroom. I remember thinking how grubby he looked and how ashamed his mother should be. His clothes were at least two sizes too small for him and his face looked liked it hadn't seem the back end of a wash cloth in years." Iruka shuffled through the papers. Sure enough, Naruto's records began from the tender age of seven. The word, 'unknown' recurred several times. "I don't believe he was a runaway" She added. "He didn't even have shoes on his feet much less a backpack of kids runaway trinkets. After I coaxed a meal into him he said he wasn't sure where he came from and all he remembers is living on the streets. I haven't had much luck tracking down any relatives" A mutual feeling of pity swept over them both but it blew over quickly as these two weren't the type to let past get in the way of the future. Iruka held the picture up.

"And the marks?" Apparently no-one knew for sure what they were. Doctors found no trace of tattoo needles and there was no record of anyone, ever, being born with black birth marks. Especially one's that came in such a bizarre pattern on a child's abdomen and face.

"Wouldn't someone like Naruto be better suited in a full family? You know, both parents with children of their own or something?" It seemed like the most logical and obvious answer; a boy with no previous record or memory of a family of his own would surely long to be part of something like that. Kurenia just shook her head gently. Although, that was just the quizzical question she'd been hoping for. Someone who thought along the same line as she did and would, therefore, be able to understand her alternative solution.

"We attempted just that. Unfortunately the outcome was something I had not anticipated" It felt so horribly classic that Kurenia felt so utterly stupid for not thinking of it beforehand. She'd been blinded by the hope and joy of seeing that little blonde so happy. However, that 'suited' family could only give initial love. As soon as the welcoming shower of attention dwindled away back into it's regular routine that barely involved Naruto, he began to crave the attention. Why wouldn't he? He's been moved into an environment that suddenly flooded him with praise and happy smiles and when it was suddenly taken away, he had to find some way of getting it back. Tragically, pulling pranks and getting into fist fights might not have been the best way to go about it. If Kurenia felt like her heart had split in two at such a cold rejection she could only imagine what her poor little Naruto had went though.

"It's not like he needs constant attention. He's not a stupid boy, not in the slightest. Well, he has his moments but that's not the point. He understands people are busy from time to time and he has to keep himself entertained but that doesn't mean he should be expected to adjust to someone else's standards. What he needs is the reassurance that he can be his own person. I don't want him rejected like that ever again, not for being himself" Iruka closed the folder. His brow furrowed slightly, either from contemplation or anger, Kurenia wasn't quite sure.

"And you think I'm 'suited' for Naruto?" Kurenia was almost shocked to hear her Iruka sound so grim. She shook it off.

"You referred to me as 'Sensei' didn't you? That's all the reassurance I need" She stood proudly, knowing in her heart she'd made the right judgement this time. "You even call him by 'Naruto' already. I just know you'll treat him right and he'll finally be able to grow" Iruka felt completely embarrassed yet oddly flattered at the same time. He took out the picture one more time, smiled at the grin looking back up at him and imagined what his voice would be like.

XXXX

Konohagakure is such a large place; full of building and structures as grand and full as the ocean is with fish. Yet, it was also made up of small things. A flower shop where occasions of sorrow and joy came by daily and women gossiped about who that nice young man might be giving flowers to. Noodle stands, where athletes and low income teenagers alike could eat their hearts out. Tea houses were multiple as traditional tea houses kept their guests in few to keep their quality high. This is where Kurenia arranged her meeting with Yamato. The man was quiet and solitary by nature. Places like these, where guests could be left to their own devices without the loud chit chatter of too many customers and were only disturbed when asked if they'd like a refill were ideal for a man like him. The seating was adequately comfortable; not the traditional attire for a tea house but, in all honesty, the only thing that was traditional around here was that the tea was brewed instead of boiled. The place served it's purpose though; peace, quiet and comfort.

"Afternoon, Tenzo. I see you haven't changed your usual hangout. It seems only yesterday you were working here part time."

Yamato smiled. Her attire hadn't changed much either since his childhood days. She was adorned in white; an elegant woman's suit with a knee length skirt. A thick red belt hugged her hips neatly. It was a nostalgic treat to hear his old nickname again. Kurenia settled herself down on the arc of the couch, resting her collection of folders by her side.

This was certainly a surprise though. Kurenia had never thought of her Tenzo as the family type. He'd never even been in a long term relationship before. It gave no interest to him. Spending large amounts of time with another person interrupted his work and leisure time. Kurenia had suspected her Tenzo would become the workaholic type but he had the strange habit of burying himself in work and suddenly lounging for days on end. Apparently, to Tenzo, even lounging time was his time only. Such a strange boy in his youth but never a handful and always so helpful. But this however, was strange. Even for him. She was very curious.

"So, why do you wish to adopt, Tenzo? I must say, your call caught me off guard"

Yamato casually paid the waitress for the tea without so much as eye contact or word towards her way. It must be second nature to him by now. "You wouldn't be the only one. But, we all have moments where we surprise even ourselves. I figured it was time to take care of something other than redwood or oak"

If it were anyone else, Kurenia would have immediately left in a fury at such a rude remark towards a child. However, this was Tenzo. As a young boy, he only cared for something if he was told to. Others were of no interest to him and why would they be? He has no parents of his own, he had been switched from home to home before Kurenia took him in and no-one particularly took an interest in such a 'plain' looking child with not a care for another person. As a result, he was left grow in the orphanage until legal age and was allowed to fend for himself.

This, was a remarkable moment. The little Tenzo she'd known for over ten years now, who had always been so closed off and solitary, wanted to let someone in. Being close-up with his personality once again reminded Kurenia of a another 'plain child' who could do with a secure home. And maybe someone who could he could relate to. A folder with an odd black stain on one corner was pushed along the table. As Yamato glanced at the picture inside, Kurenia imagined it must be like looking in a mirror.

"He seems ordinary" Yamato remarked in a plain tone. Dark black hair cut into a simple shape, dark eyes that had an obvious 'don't bother me' expression bored into them. No distinctive facial features that would make him noticeable in a crowd. "But, I know the system well, 'ordinary' kids don't grow to his age without being adopted. No-one wants a problem child. What's he like?"

Her Tenzo's old habit of talking from morbid to curious hadn't changed over the years. But this was good, he's taking an interest.

"He does have a few odd traits. For example, he's a borderline mute" Yamato just stared blankly, not sure what was more bizarre; the mute or that his old carer was smiling when she said that. How could someone be a borderline mute? You either were or you weren't. "He talks occasionally. The reason I class him as 'borderline' is because he has very interesting ways of communicating"

Of course Yamato would want to know more about these 'traits' so he could let himself know what he was in for but, Kurenia felt the curiosity might entice Tenzo more and possibly begin a bridge.

Hopefully, this kid didn't come with too many surprises.

"Oh, I should warn you though" Typical. "If you ever see him smile, keep a very close eye on him"

XXXX

Why do some people insist of begin difficult to find? Honestly, Kurenia was having more trouble finding Maito Gai than organising a field trip. The academy playgrounds were flooded with children tall and small; running frantically and playing chasing games. High heels were not exactly the most manoeuvrable footwear when darting between flying dodge balls and scattered marbles. She survived the onslaught of the battle field but, now she had to find her way through the monstrous layout of a building called a school. To think, she thought it would be a smart idea to come along when the children were _out _of class.

There wasn't a teacher in sight and Kurenia doubted her ability to find the teachers lounge before lunch was over. There was a stroke of luck for the lost maiden. A young student teacher who had been left to tidy the art room was kind enough, or grateful for an excuse to leave, to direct Kurenia to the P.E department where Mr Maito could be found.

Despite the complete lack of architectural depth in this building (stairs leading in too many directions, hallways that worked in circles instead of grids and the oddest of smells that seemed to crawl from some unseen source) the place did have it's charms. Almost every hallway that accompanied a class room didn't have piece of plaster wall to show because of the numerous projects cluttering them. Every pupil must have had something up to take up so much space. Some of the writing on several pieces looked faded and worn, like they'd been there for years. Didn't schools normally take this stuff down at the end of the year? The head teacher must be the treasure keeper type. If they kept this up for much longer though the building was going to look like it was help together with crazy glue and glitter.

_I should have my bunch make projects like these for our walls_. She kept that thought stored for later as a new tactic to boost some her little one's creative spirits.

After descending all the way to the basement floor and hallway or two more, a bright green door with the name MAITO, GAI engraved on the front made itself known. Opening the door suddenly reminded Kurenia why she pestered her little ones about 'knocking first'. She knew that Gai was the athletic type but, vain was a little too much for her to handle. Gazing in the full length mirror was a tall, shirtless man. Hair as dark as the black beetle and shaped like it too. He flexed and curled his bulging arms, smiling broadly at his own reflection, admiring his own 'craftsmanship'.

Kurenia coughed like Gai had invaded her personal space instead of the other way around. Embarrassment appeared to be a foreign concept with this man as he spread his arms wide and greeted Kurenia very loudly. Thank heaven that student teacher left before she opened the door. Her shoulder was almost yanked out the socket when Gai shook her hand. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea? He beckoned her to sit in one of the green cushioned chairs, he obviously brought in himself, pulled out two water bottles from the mini lime green fridge and perched himself on top of his own desk.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Kurenia" He bellowed. "Please excuse the mess, it's report card season"

That doesn't explain your need to pose, a silent voice seemed to call. The strange man took a long swig from the bottle and twisted the cap back on. "So, why the sudden visit?" He asked. "I have a feeling it's not just a casual stop-by" The man may be aesthetically blunt but his intuition was as sharp as ever.

"I came to ask a favour of you, Gai"

"Well, I do owe you after you helped me adopt my beloved nephew. How can I help you?" She let her shoulders relax to allow her bag to slip to the floor. She pulled out a single folder marked with a red kanji symbol that had been smudged at some point, now obscured and illegible.

"I was wondering…..if you would like to adopt again?" If only this moment could be captured on camera and moralised on a giant billboard for the entire village to see because no-one would believe that Maito Gai was actually speechless.

"This boy needs a home, Gai. But, I need someone with a great deal of experience with the energy and strength to deal with him" Gai may be loud, rambunctious and a little on the dramatic side but, on paper, he was more than qualified. Nearly twelve years of teaching under his belt and a reputation to top it. He made himself known throughout the village with his 'aggression release' programme designed for the more uncooperative youth of the generation. The academy had never approved as they believed it might lead to violent scuffs and bring down the schools name in the end but were soon forced to acknowledge Gai's skill at handling what others would cast off as ' the lost causes'. Grades were going up.

However, the boy Kurenia had in mind didn't need a cage keeper, he needed a parent. Gai took the folder and stared at the picture clipped inside.

"His name is Gaara" she said sombrely.

"Grumpy little tyke, isn't he?" The picture wasn't exactly the most flattering. Un-brushed red hair, sulking face, the dark rims looking larger than ever with the eyes glaring at the camera. Little Gaara really disliked having his picture taken . It took a great deal of effort just to get him to stand still, she wasn't about to push her luck and ask for a smile. Kurenia looked at her knees glumly.

"He's what the system likes to call a 'problem child'. She sighed. Gai flipped though the pages morosely. He'd came across some violent kids in the past but this one felt like a doosey.

**Unsociable Characteristics**

**.Easily provoked**

**.Dangerously aggressive**

**.Violent to others**

**. Prone to loud fits of rage**

Gai knew Kurenia well enough to know she hated writing down all the 'problems' children had. But, the system never seem to include a nice list and insisting on knowing all the faults these kids came with to prevent future uproars. The record continued to read a pretty grim past. When the Mother died from child birth, the Father gave full custody to the Uncle and was never heard from again. Turned out the Uncle wasn't exactly willing to take the cause of his sister's death. Several runaways and broken bones later, people were starting to realise there might be something afoot. Too little too late though. When action was finally taken they found a dead Uncle and a crying child with bloodied knife clutched in his hand.

"I've came across abusive parents before but none of the kids were ever brave enough to fight back. I'm assuming the charges were dropped in a defence plea?" He noted.

"That and I offered to take him in or they'd dump him in the asylum. Just a fancy word for prison if you ask me. He's an brutal a little bugger at times but he's got to be the sweetest little boy I've ever known. He's so curious about anything around him but can never buck up the nerve to ask." The folder was suddenly slammed shut.

"So why me? I've always had the impression experience alone doesn't cut it with you" Kurenia stood with her shoulders broad and stiff.

"_Youth should never be interrupted." _She said boldly. "That's what you said the day you asked me to help you adopt Lee. I've lived by that, everyday since. Gaara's youth has been interrupted long enough" Gai suddenly felt a spark ignite his flame of passion. He grabbed Kurenia's hand firmly once again, his eyes serious with dedicated glint.

"Just tell me one thing though, does he have any friends?"

"Amazingly, two. You'll learn to fear them soon enough"


	2. Welcome House Pt1

**Phew. Sorry for the long awaited update. Blame real life. It dosen't cooperate with fictional life. But i've been getting some very thoughtful reviews for this fic and i wanted to get an update ASAP but still have some good quality in it. Hopefull i've acheived that ^^; This will be a two parter chapter, mostly because i'm still writing it and i figured it would be too long release as one chapter. So, please enjoy. Thanks again for the reviews so far. They are my drugs.  
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How Orphan Boys play.**

**CH2**

**Welcome house. part 1**

Kurenia Sensei always manages to pick the right moments to call on someone. It's either during dinner because she always eats later than everyone else, during T.V privilege time, or during game hour and occasionally bath time. If she called you during that one then it's either stay in and get in trouble for being late or get out and start walking. After one or two little ones taking that opportunity up, Kurenia started taking more consideration about what others were doing during the day when she called on them. All those considerations were thrown out the window today when she pressed the house intercom button. Luckily for her it was study hall hour for the three boys she requested. As their names echoed throughout the study hall, three pencils dropped almost simultaneously. Their owners cared very little if they were in trouble, anything was better than algebra lessons.

"Do you think Kurenia knows about the toad?" Naruto asked. Not really the smartest thing to do in front of the Headmistress' office door.

"I do now, Naruto" The blonde waved his hands frantically as if he could just wipe away his words. The other two just sighed at another one of their friend's 'moments'. Another one for the book. "Come on in boys. I have some news for you." As the door closed and three backsides parked themselves into empty seats, Naruto asked, "Good or bad?" Kurenia rested her chin on her right hand, trying to look as casual as possible.

"Both, I guess. I'm not sure which is which though. I'll cut straight to it" The Headmistress took her left fist and extended three fingers in the boys direction. "You're all being adopted" Three pairs of eyes widened. None of them uttered a single noise, they just appeared to be frozen with fish eyes. The first move came from Sai. He plucked the black marker from his cut-offs and then quickly scribbled along his wrist. He showed Kurenia three arrows, each one pointing in a different direction. She nodded. "Yes, Sai. This does mean you will all be separated. But, I managed to come up with a compromise which, I hope you'll take as the good news" Little Gaara was already on the edge of his seat, gripping his knees tightly.

"Even though you'll all be living in different homes, coincidentally, you'll all be living in the same street", she beamed, hoping with all her heart that might attract them to the idea. Barely a moment before she could think of something else to say, Naruto spoke again,

"What are they like?" He said firmly. This was the chance Kurenia had been hoping for. She had to tred carefully though and not overwhelm them. She took deep breadth to prepare herself.

"Sai. You're adopters name is Yamato. He's a botanist, a plant scientist. He's quiet and mostly keeps to himself most of the time so, I thought that would give all the peace you'd like to draw" Her gaze shifted. "Naruto, you'll be living with Iruka. He's the kindergarten teacher at the academy. I've known him since he was your age and I can honestly say he's very friendly. Plus, he's not a bad cook either so your bottomless pit shouldn't have any complaints" These would seem like bribing techniques to any normal individual and maybe they were in some way but, when it came to these boys, they needed something more than a roof over their head. There had to be something they could look forward to and expect. However, this wasn't going to be an easy task with Gaara. What he had to look forward too was everything that pretty much scared him. "Gai is your adopter, Gaara. He's a bit loud and….weird at times but he's full of love. His nephew Lee lives with him too so, you'll technically be getting a brother too"

Her little red head's face suddenly contorted. Oh dear, she hit something. Kurenia's lips tightened and her teeth clenched. Two hands, one from each side, slowly reached into the middle and took hold of Gaara's tight fists. Bright blue eyes looked at Kurenia pleadingly. "Kurenia-Sensei, can we have five?"

"Sure!" She wasted no time in leaving her own office.

XXXX

Is it possible to feel the a heart attack without the inevitable death at the end? The tightening of the chest, shooting pains through the upper limbs, the air being choked from the lungs and an almost metallic taste of the tongue? Not a heart attack, no. Just your common symptoms associated with a frantic and protective teacher. Kurenia's nails were suffering the brunt of her worrying nerves.

The moment was just too much to bare. Two choices. One would give these boys the chance to lead a normal life, see what it's like to be part of a family that wants them and one day begin families of their own. The other? Who knows where they might end up if they make that decision. She just knew it wouldn't be the life they deserved. Naruto seemed to be taking the whole situation in a lot better than Kurenia expected than little Gaara. The red looked absolutely outraged by the whole idea. She knew this might scare him a little but, she really had expected Naruto to be making more of a fuss since he's been though this system before and failed. Sai was as passive as expected at least. But even that, was worrying her a little now. She almost feel off her heels when the sound of the door clicked. Three little heads popped out; one plain, one in a temper and the other looked so serious Kurenia nearly thought she left a forth boy in there.

"We'll do it"

PART 2

Somehow, even though it had been well established that he'd be moving to a new house, Naruto still felt like he was just visiting the place. Like some really boring field trip. Naruto's back pack was full of bits and bobs and very few clothes. All he really wore were his orange dungarees. Whenever they needed cleaned, the blonde would sit in front of the washer and dryer for nearly two hours until they were done. It gave Kurenia the occasional opportunity to get some paper work done without worrying what certain little ones were up to.

When Naruto arrived at his new place of living, he suddenly wondered if Iruka took them to the school by mistake; this place was covered in bits of paper written with chicken scratches, marked with red lettering, smiley stickers and the odd crude drawing. Every wall and bookstand had some sort of scribble covered piece pinned to them. The blonde just stood in the door way.

"I….have a habit off keeping my students work," Iruka smiled sheepishly, "even if they don't like it that much"

"You're a bit weird aren't you?" As far as first impressions go, this could be going better. Iruka had been told this little blonde sour puss was probably a jumping bean in past life but, from Iruka could see, Naruto seemed pretty closed up. Well, that should be expected right. Iruka could vaguely remember going through the experience himself and how intimidating it was. He definitely remembered not wanting sympathy. So, it was time to get into gear.

"You hungry?" Iruka asked while closing the door.

"Starving!" Came a loud and relieved whine. "I haven't eaten since breakfast 'cause I've been packing all day" Poor kid was clutching his tummy and slouching forward. Iruka just smiled, thinking to himself that the kid would probably be just as hungry even if he had had lunch.

"Well lets get something fixed up then. How's ramen sound?" The light from the fridge beamed in every direction, casting silhouettes of the food inside.

"Never had it before" Iruka's head shot up over the top of the fridge door and peered down with shocked eyes at the blonde top staring back up at him. It shouldn't have really came as a surprise though. Kurenia was strict about healthy eating in the orphanage. Ramen would have been a rare luxury. It wasn't exactly unhealthy but kids eat tons of what they like and ramen could really mess up your stomach of you had too much. "Well, this'll be a nice treat then. Want me to show you how to make it?" Now it was blue eyes turn to widen in shock but were accompanied with a broad smile.

"Really?" he beamed brightly.

"Sure" The evening seemed to be going smoothly for of them. After Iruka showed Naruto how everything worked he let the kid cook the noodles to start off simple. The pair soon made two large bowls of pork ramen. The bowls were laid, stools tucked in and the chopsticks were snapped.

Man, the kid must have really been hungry. Half of Naruto's bowl was gone before Iruka had even tucked into his. Good thing they made extra. There was a loud slurp from Naruto before he spoke.

"Hey, how come your kitchen is in the living room? Did they forget to build the wall or something?" Iruka snorted, almost blowing noodles out his nose. He stopped when he caught eye of that look Naruto was darting his way. The kid didn't seem to be friendly with sarcasm.

"No, they didn't. It's built this way to save money and space. I got it when I was a student teacher and it just grew on me. Plus, now that I'm a full time teacher the rent's a whole lot easier to keep up with" All Iruka got in response was a blank stare. Must have used too many terms Naruto wasn't familiar with. "Um…how's the food?" Changing the subject got him a relieving grin.

"Great. I'm almost done!" Both hands clutched the base of the bowl and practically threw it in the blonde's face.

"Naruto! Careful!" Too late. Bowl plus force, plus unstable stool equals one knuckle head on the floor with soup from head to chest. Iruka nearly jumped over the counter top.

"You okay?" he yelled. Naruto used his right thumb to push the white dome from his fore head. Those strange whickers curved around his cheeks as he smiled. The frowning bronze took it as an apology and just sighed heavily. "You drink your cereal like that too?" He helped Naruto pick a few of the gooey strands of noodles from his hair.

"Sorry" he said, wiping the soup stains from his face, "it was just really good. Can we have it again?" Good thing a certain person was a sucker for flattery. Suddenly the two started laughing, like they were sharing some sort of inside joke. Iruka finally stood, taking the upturned bowl and nearly winded stomach with him. He took a deep breadth and helped Naruto up.

"Well, nothing's broken. So it's okay. Next time, just use a spoon" He dumped their dishes in the sink. "I'll go run you a bath, okay? How about you go put your things in your room. It's the second door over there" He pointed to a corner as he strolled off to the bath room.

Now, if a certain someone had indulged an innocent bronze teacher with all the information about his new little resident, he might have been better prepared for the rest of the evening that awaited him

"Bath's ready, Naruto!" When you spend the majority of your day surrounded by the often shrilling voice of young children, things like silence become awkward to handle. One thing Iruka looked forward to most with having Naruto around would be the end to the eerie quiet that filled Iruka's apartment. So, when the only noise he could hear after calling out was the dripping of the tap behind him, Iruka felt a little disturbed.

There was no sign of Naruto in his room. In fact, there was no sign he'd even been in it to begin with. The living room turned up empty too apart from the old, dusty green backpack that had been left near the door. "You even here?" It was meant a joke to himself until it erupted a horrible thought inside his head. _NO, _he declared inwardly. He would have heard the door open if Naruto ran off. The damn thing was old and often had a voice of its own. So where could that blonde mop top have disappeared to? Iruka stood stiffly in the middle of his small living room, unconsciously scratching his noise to the point of giving a fresh scar. Naruto was hiding, but why? And more annoyingly, where? There weren't exactly many places to hide here. The beds were too close to the floor to hide under. There's no way he'd fit in any of the drawers and the oven could barely fit a whole chicken inside it, let alone at pre-teen boy. When the erratic thump of panic started surging it's way through his chest, poor Iruka collapsed onto the couch in an attempt to get his thoughts together. Tanned hands covered his worrying face while he propped his feet heavily on the coffee table. Suddenly, there was a massive THUD against the floor. "OW!" Either the table decided to eat Naruto and spit him out or someone has watched 'Matilda' too many times.

"What on earth, Naruto? You nearly gave me a heart attack. Hurry up and take your bath before the water gets cold." And just when Iruka thought he could relax…..

"NO WAY!" A blonde and orange blur flew from underneath the table and darted straight for the kitchen cupboards. Iruka was starting to understand why this kid was such a handful. It was now a wrestling match with Naruto and a set of cupboard handles.

"Naruto, get out of there and get in the bath!" Why did it feel like he was suddenly yelling at a six year old? Well, as the old saying goes; act like it, get treated like it. "Fine" he acclaimed, letting go of the handles and settling himself down on the floor with his arms folded. "Forget the bath. You can stay in there all night" A lot quicker than Iruka expected, the doors swung open with blonde spikes popping out.

"Really?" Iruka nearly missed his chance it came that quickly but he managed lunge forward and yank the kid out by the forearms before he could dive away again. With more force than what he would have really liked to use on a small kid, Iruka pinned the pest under one arm and struggled like hell to get to his feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! It's only a bath!" All there was to hear in reply were incoherent grunts and screeches. For the first time, Iruka just thought 'Fuck it'. The second they reached the bathroom, Naruto was dumped right into the tub. Water splashed everywhere from ceiling to floor and limbs flailed like crazy but, he was in the tub. Clothed regardless, he was in the tub. That's all that mattered at this point.

"You done being a fish yet?" Iruka growled fiercely. He hadn't been this vexed in a long time. It wasn't something he liked to do on a regular basis but this kid was ploughing through all his calming techniques. Naruto finally caught himself on the edge of the tub and thrust his soaked torso up.

"This is abuse!" Came a shrieking fish from the water.

"I call it being a brat!" Came a thundering roar that nearly sent Naruto into the deep once more. Iruka rolled his left sleeve up.

"Now, is this going to be difficult?" A blonde brow furrowed in fury. Naruto threw a handful of water in Iruka's direction and loudly stood up.

"I'm not baby! I can clean myself!" Iruka nearly threw his whole body forward in anger, arms spread wide as if someone was holding him back.

"Then what the fuck was that all about?! Jesus, no wonder that family kicked you-" Oh crap, no!

Iruka immediately slammed a hand over his mouth but it was too late. The look on Naruto's face just couldn't be described. A drowning fox looked happier right now. Before Iruka could dig himself a deeper hole, he slowly left the bath room. He couldn't bare that look for a moment longer. The look of someone who just had their soul torn from their heart. Worst part was, Iruka felt like he was the one who ripped it out.

XXXX

An hour and a half passed by with not a sound made throughout the apartment. Iruka couldn't believe what he'd done. He'd taken the one thing that must have hurt Naruto the most in his life and he threw it in the poor kid's face. Iruka paced the small 'L' interior of his kitchen, one hand tucked beneath his arm pit while the other rubbed against his nose vigorously. After making what must be his thirtieth lap of the kitchen floor it suddenly hit him that Naruto hadn't even left the bath, from what he could tell. Fears of pneumonia swept over him like a tsunami and quickly dragged him back into the dangerous deep. Knees shook like weak braches on an old tree but even a mighty gust of wind wouldn't push Iruka through that door; he had to do it himself. When he summoned the courage to nudge that door open and peer inside, he was met with Naruto's hunched back. He had scrunched himself up into a shape that fought against the tub's anatomy design and he was shivering frantically. He must have figured Iruka would come back and didn't want to face him again. Even if that meant sitting in cold water all night.

First day. First day and Iruka felt like the biggest screw up in history. How could he say something like that? It didn't matter if he had been pissed off. It was no excuse to say something that horrible. Naruto would probably want to run away from here for sure now. Iruka couldn't blame him either.

"I ruined it" Huh? Was that Iruka's voice. He didn't think so. "I've…I've ruined everything for them" Dark brown eye brows arched curiously.

"Who?" Naruto twitched. Iruka stiffened, thinking maybe Naruto had been having a private conversation.

"Gaara….and Sai. I've ruined everything for them. You're going to send me back and when they find out they'll want to go back too" His voice sounded so hurt but not for himself like Iruka had expected. It caught him off guard enough to take a few steps forward and sit on the floor with his back against the tub, parallel to Naruto.

"Naruto I-"

"They've never known what it's like!" he yelled into his knees.

"What _what's _like?" Iruka stretched his neck back, wanting to look Naruto in the eye if that would somehow help but the blonde just kept making himself smaller.

"To have a family", came a croaked voice. "They've never known. I fucked it up for myself once. I don't care though. They just adopted me to look good" They what? Did Kurenia-Sensei know about this? No wonder he rebelled like the report said. "But I…..I want them to have that so much. They need it"

"What about you?" Glazed blue eyes shot up to face Iruka eye to eye. The question seemed to startle him somehow. "Naruto, I'm not taking you back there. I'm not taking away your chance to have what you need too" Iruka kept a firm stare while Naruto continued to shiver. God dammit! Get him out of that thing before he freezes to death.

Suddenly the whole apartment echoed with a loud ringing. Out of sheer habit, Iruka got up and ran to answer it. He almost swore again when he picked up the receiver. Honestly, he'd barely swore a day in his life before tonight.

"Hello, Iruka?" The voice was familiar.

"Kurenia-Sensei? Uh…hi. It's a bit late to calling isn't it? Is something wrong?" There was a light cough on the other end.

"You could say that" That usually meant something a lot more serious in Iruka's experience. "Some of the papers from Naruto's file fell out. I feel so stupid for not noticing them sooner and there's stuff in them I really should have told you at the interview but they're the kind of details that become so regular to us that I often forget-"

"Kurenia-Sensei! What the matter?" He'd never raised his voice to her before? Maybe next he should kill someone and call this night a hat trick.

"Oh, sorry", she giggled. "It's Naruto. You see…he's….afraid of baths". Say what?

"You mean, he's an aqua phobic?" OH perfect!

"Oh no. That's not it at all. Give him a river and he'll frolic like a fish. It's just baths" If Iruka was aware of the face he was making, he might have laughed. "I know it sounds ridiculous but it's true. He's been that way ever since I've known him. I've never been able to figure it out myself or get him over it either. So, when it comes to cleaning himself, mind letting him just use the sink and a wash cloth?" It was like having an anvil both lift and crash down on him at the same time. Regardless, he smiled though clenched teeth and cheered down the phone.

"Thanks for letting me know that. But really Kurenia-Sensei, don't worry so much. We're doing fine" There was a relieved sigh from Kurenia's end.

"That's good. Well, I have a few more things to check out before I can call it quits for the night but you two have a good night" Click. Where's a baseball bat when you need one? Iruka felt like someone should be whacking him over the head until his skull cracked. This wasn't even a case of bad luck. This was some unseen forces way of messing with you. ARRGGHHH! Why hadn't Naruto just told him? Oh Crap, Naruto! He's still in the tub! He was about to turn around and bolt for the bathroom but was stopped when something cold and wet slammed into his stomach.

"Naruto? What's-"

"Thank you!" Iruka froze for a moment. His hands hovered in the air until he heard the muffled cries being buried inside his soaked jumper. Ice water pooled at their feet, blonde hair was soaked like a wet dog and thin arms shivered and clung to Iruka tightly. Cold and damp were easily ignored against the forgiveness they shared in that hug. "Aaachooo!" Cold, damp and snot. A little harder to ignore.

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**For anyone who struggled to visualise Iruka's apartment layout, (don't feel bad, i had trouble myself) think of the layout JD and Turk's apartment is like in Scrubs. That's the best way i can describe it, sorry ^^; thanks again guys. i'll do my best to upload soon but college projects are a bitch. Especially when you're writing fanfiction instead.**


	3. Welcome House Pt2

Hey guys ^_^ Updates take too long i know but, seriously, this was a tough chapter. Sai and Yamato are very tricky characters to write abut when you want to keep them in character. Sai was the most difficult since he dosen't express very much verbally and it's neccessary for this chapter so, I tired to understand his kind of thought pattern. Being an artist myself, i tried using my own perspective and hopefully it helped to portray Sai a little better in this chapter. I know you're all wanting to know what happens with Gaara but i felt there'd be more anticipation if i left that for another chapter. I'm taking some reviewer advice and giving the boys chapters of thier own.

THanks again everyone and i'll do my best to get the next chapter out soon. As usual, let me know if i've forgotten to proof read anything and i'll fix it. CYA!

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How Orphan Boys Play

Ch4 Welcome house part 2

Sai had his things packed nice and early. He hadn't slept much that night and found himself packing his bag to pass the time. The only items still out were his toothbrush and clean unmentionables. When Kurenia was doing her morning rounds, preparing the bowls for breakfast and making sure there were enough spoons, she found Sai had already helped himself. (Last time someone was up this early was when the roof was after that 'secret monster movie marathon') He was scribbling away on a crumbled piece of paper with a broken crayon, quietly enjoying his private time. Silently as she could, Kurenia tip-toed out the room.

The clock ticked past seven thirty, half an hour before breakfast time and dozens of thundering feet running down the stairs. Kurenia returned to the dining room to find Sai with an empty bowl and his paper struggling to show any trace of its natural white.

"Good morning, Sunshine", she cooed.

"Morning, Kurenia-Sensei" She pulled out the chair next to him and sat without another word, just quietly admired her little Sunshine's art work. When possible, Kurenia liked to keep these rare pieces of work. Paper was sometimes difficult to find in a place like this and no matter how much she ordered, it never seemed to last as long as intended. Kurenia figured that was the reason Sai drew on himself so much. She didn't mind as long as he cleaned himself at the end of the day. Red eye were drawn to the scribbled green penguin but blinked when the remembered who their attention was supposed to be focused on.

"Sai, honey, I know it's quite early but since you were up earlier than the rest of the birds in the nest, I called Yamato and asked of he wouldn't mind picking you up now. Is that okay? I thought you'd like to avoid the morning rush in here" Dark orbs just stared blankly for a moment at the headmistress but it was a familiar expression; it often meant he was thinking hard over something. He suddenly reached into his pocket, plucked the pen from it and marked his palm. A simple smiling face and a nod faced Kurenia.

XXXX

Despite it being close to Summer, the morning air was crisp and cool enough to wear a sweater. Even though Sai took this initiative, he hadn't bothered to change his black cut-offs.

"Aren't you cold with those things on? Yamato asked as they walked through the empty streets. Sai just shook his head and smiled in the older man's direction. The walk was quiet and brisk to Yamato's comfort. He was grateful for Kurenia calling him at the time she did instead of during the school hours; kids buzzing everywhere, queues of school bags lined up at several shops during lunch time and incessant mobile ring tones.

Yamato's house looked a little out of place on this particular street. The majority of homes consisted of two storey street apartments, all connected to form one long street combined with a few shops. The house looked like the traditional family type; basic square with the classic four window on the front, white door with the knocker, front garden and maybe a back one too, picket fence and even a chimney. Would the inside be just as out of place? On the contrary, it was strangely plain. The opening hallway was nothing more than a tunnel of wood and white wall paper leading into a living room of ordinary, undecorated furniture and grey/green walls. No pictures, no trinkets, ornaments or plants which, seemed even stranger considering this guy is a plant scientist.

"So, what do you think?" The question was replied wit a heavy grin and an odd rummaging inside Sai's pocket.

They didn't stay in the house for long. Since it had been short notice, Yamato did have a few errands to run. The backpack was dumped, the door was locked and Sai kept his jumper on. First stop was the grocery store which felt surprisingly short. One basket; filled with a loaf of bread but no spreads, rice crispies but no sugars or sweet fruits, chicken and potatoes but no sides or sauces. Three aisles and no more than fifteen minutes. The freckle face kid at the cash desk didn't look to happy about working the early shift and must haven been grateful for the small basket load coming his way. A quick check to make sure the kid was still by his side, a smile in return and another rummage in the pocket while the back was turned.

Next stop was the large greenhouse on the rural side of town. It seemed initial presumptions were wrong and that bare house was actually going to see some plant life. Hopefully, something colourful.

Walls of six foot crystallised sand, arched into a of clear vision to house creations of green and small. The heavy scent of pollen and condensation washed over the young boy's face when Yamato unlocked that carefully framed door. Thick green leaves, bigger than his own head brushed over his face and left faint traces of green mist. A thin path from the door, made up of tiny brown and golden pebbles designed to form a natural way around the plant life without upsetting it. The ground had sprouted rainbows of flowers and shapes and sizes. Tiny fences helped to separate the breeds but large assortments of vines covered them well to create the beautiful illusion of a wild garden. A delicate looking tree grew in the corner, with bark almost as dark as Sai's hair and thin leaves that resembled his pale complexion. Sai found himself loost in such wondrous place and grew more curious to which beauty they might be taking back with him. Would it be the tulips; brightly and bountifully yellow and shaped to capture the sun in their cups? Or maybe those desert roses growing in the ring of shale grains; soft, adoring white petals, tinted with a lush red around the edges? Some wild, others timid but all so beautiful.

"Sai!" A voice called out from the door way. The boy hadn't noticed Yamato had left his side until now. How long had he been wandering around? "I got the cactus. We can go now"

XXXX

The top of Sai's head felt warm with the afternoon sun bearing down on it. He was carrying the brown bag against his chest with the sleeved arms supporting the bottom. Previous years of helping to carry groceries on food day taught him to make sure the base didn't fall apart. Naruto still teased him about peanut butter butt print.

Sai could just see over some of the roof tops enough to see the clock tower, almost one o'clock. Right now he was usually having lunch with Naruto and Gaara in the playground. They sometimes had the whole place to themselves; free swings and slides, peanut butter sandwiches and fizz, Naruto going for a new spinning record on the monkey bars and Gaara trying to find a hiding place where no one could actually find him. Where they having lunch now, without him?

Yamato had made them both a simple lunch; ham and cheese on white bread with a glass of milk. The pair sat quietly at the table, Sai and the head and Yamato at the side corner, reading snippets of a newspaper split between them, Sai smiling whenever Yamato looked his way. The silence broke halfway through their meal, "Are you going to show me what you've been drawing on your arms all day?" Sai had been taking a bite out his sandwich but his teeth froze in the bread as Yamato's sudden blurt. He quickly swallowed the lump of white and smiled weakly. "Enough of that, too", he said quite sternly. "I know Kurenia's taught you not to lie. I was in that orphanage too and I know every fake act in the book. If you don' t like it here, you're welcome to go straight back" Sai's face immediately dropped along wit his food. It landed with a loud clang against the plate. "If you can't learn to work around your problems then you'll be stuck at square one the rest of you life and that can't be done in the orphanage forever. Eighteen and you're out of there. And trust me, the real world doesn't work well with clueless idiots"

Sai's head dropped low until his chin touched his collar bone. A glum, dismal face replaced the one that had believed to have been a clever mask. The white plates were pushed aside and Yamato's chair was turned to face Sai more directly. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong or are we going to play the silent game 'till New years?" The sound of fabric being scrunched up into tight fists seemed like it was going to be only response.

"I hate you" Well, at least he said something. "Your house is boring. Everything's so plain and dull" Was his voice getting louder? "Even your food looks like it belongs in the house of grey! But that's where we are, right? A house of grey!" Sai's voice was growing considerably with a low growl working it's way out and ready to bark. "That greenhouse was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and you bring a cactus!" Suddenly the chair fell back against the floor, it's previous user now with his feet firmly apart and nearly roaring in Yamato's face. "You're the most boring fart I've ever met and….and…"

"And?" Yamato's composure hadn't changed once during Sai's pent-up rage. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed the kid was holding all that crap in but, like he said, he knew every act. His early years were in that orphanage. Too many faces to count and remember but regular little 'problems' occurred in many of them and gave Yamato the ability to spot a liar a mile off. Sai had lied to him the moment he first spoke to him. From the corner of the older man's eye, when Sai thought he was distracted, he noticed the kid scribbling away on his arm and hiding it away inside his sleeve. I seemed pretty senseless from the angle he'd been looking at but it was obviously the kid's only visible out let so, it must have made sense to him at least. Regardless, Yamato was curious to know what was making him so closed off. He had an idea though.

"….and….I miss my friends!" That appeared to be Sai's final outburst. His arms hung limply by his sides while his chest heaved and sighed heavily. Yamato rose from his seat and picked up the overturned chair. He silently patted the wooden surface. The older man leaned back in is own seat and casually gazed at the adjacent window.

"You did better than me in that place then. I never made any friends. Not any I kept at least. I'm not exactly the type to make an effort for other people unless I have to. _Sai_." Yamato hadn't changed his position but the younger one's head shot up at the assertive tone directed at this name. "Just because you've moved doesn't mean you'll lose your friends. It just means you need to make more of an effort to keep them. Understand?" There was a faint nod of a response. No smile. "So, can I see then?"

The massive woollen jumper was quickly part of a life and death mission to be removed from Sai's torso. The sudden frantic behaviour took Yamato by surprise but not as much as what was going on underneath.

"What's with your shirt?" Sai raised his arms and blinked at the black tank top that barely went past his chest.

"What's wrong with it? I like it. It keeps me cool" _Whatever. Let's just see what you've been burning into your skin all day. If you get blood poisoning-whoa! _

"You drew these?" _No way! _Yamato was sure spent no more that six seconds at a time on his arms but these were amazing. The right limb had been doodled in all sorts of things that Yamato interpreted as Sai's frustrated thoughts that he had kept quiet. There was a house on his forearm, marked with a frowning face; above that was a tree that looked very familiar with a cactus along side it, split in two. The other arm suddenly caught Yamato's attention. Now these had to have taken more than a few seconds. Two animals decorated the pale arm like professional tattoos. Curls and swirls formed a bulky, smiling toad while crosshatched lines created a bushy, dark eyed Tanuki. Two fingers pressed near the black line art.

"That's Naruto and that's Gaara" Sai smiled.


	4. Welcome House Pt3

** Hey guys^_^ thanks for being patient with this fic. If it weren't for real life, wouldn't we all be that little bit happier? **

**Anyway, here it is. The chapter that inspired the whole fic. But don't fret, this isn't the last installment. Not by a long shot. THere are stil bits and pieces i'm working out but i find i write better when improvising sometimes. So, we'll jsut see how it goes. Your reviews have been really inspiring so far. Honestly. I have had some really sucky reviews in the past, things like 'please update'. How lazyright? i really ave ad reviews that just said that!! But you guys, you are a writer's dream ^______________________^ there are some treats at the end of this fic for ya all so remember to check 'em out. **

**Thanks again guys and enjoy  
**

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**How Orphan boys play**

**Ch4  
**

**Wecome House Part 3**

There had never been any real consideration to it in the past but today, Gaara was realising his least favourite colour. He'd never seen so much green in one place. It was everywhere from the brightly striped couch moulding into the luminous walls, to the fluffy, grass green rug. Even the white blinds failed to convey their actual colour against this forest. All of it was leaving a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach so, he tried to walk it off. The apartment was a lot bigger than it look from the outside; a living room that had to be twice the size of his old room, adjoining hallways in the shape of an upside down L with three rooms on each side Gaara was doing a little exploring while Gai was on the phone; he was checking when the other person who lived here, Lee, was coming back.

The first room he peeped into was the bathroom, another tribute to the repellent colour. Over hanging green towels had their users names embroidered into them. Diagonal to the first door was an even stranger room. The colour was no a longer surprise but the odd number of mirrors were. The red head didn't stay long enough to even ask. A few steps down and Gaara found himself a room of metal. Tall, hard instruments of bizarre shapes and sizes. The only thing Gaara recognised were the dumbbells he saw in book once. Lots of these strange things were framed and coated in metal with blocks of black attached to the frames with thick, silver strings. What on earth is wrong with this house? Soon, exploring just didn't seem all that interesting anymore. He shut the door behind him and let his back rest against it, trying to take this strange place in. His viridian eyes flickered over the wall in front of him and found the row of photo's hanging there. One in the middle was a picture of Gai and, what had to be, a miniature clone standing by the older man's side. There were more pictures just like it, all in different places and all smiling like Cheshire cats.

"That's Lee, if you're wondering?" Tiny shoulders jolted at the sound behind him. "That was one of his friends on the phone. He over did it during training again and there's no way to wake him up once he's clocked out. He knew you were coming here, I just hadn't told him when so it would be a surprise. My luck, huh?" Gai looked down at the red top and smiled. He didn't really mind that Gaara wouldn't look directly at him and, instead, just from the corner of his eye. He'd been told a few times before that he looked pretty intimidating at first glance but he could never figure out why. There was a loud chime from the living room, the old grandfather clock striking a number and playing a bell eight times.

"I'd like to go to bed now" It was only eight o'clock and at this time of year the sun was barley setting. But, Gai understood. It had to have been a long day for the kid, moving around so late in the day, saying goodbye to his friends and being brought into a whole new environment.

"Come on, I'll show you were you're room is", he beamed brightly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Routinely, at 9.30pm on a Thursday, a thousand pull ups and six hundred squats made a goodnight sleep. Tonight, it was four hundred sit ups and on orphanage personnel file to read over. He wanted to give the thing a proper look over before dumping it in the trash for good. Half a mug of tea and two pages later and Gai felt he should burn these miserable records. Just too many bad memories for a twelve year old and all marked on paper as part of systematically record operation. A boy's life shouldn't be a file of reckless behaviour and an overpaid psychologist's analysis. It must have been very difficult for Kurenia to have to write such slander, especially when she spoke so highly of this boy.

Page one was enough to give a great horror novel a run for it's money. Before being admitted at the age of six, Gaara lived far east of Konoha in a desert town called Suna. Gai had never been there personally but heard the place was filled with skilled craftsmen and the made most of their income through tourism. It had to be filled with very intelligent people to master regular irrigation and rural farming in such a dry and hazardous place. But, maybe that had been the problem to begin with; too many worries over where money was coming and going to notice a small boy in desperate need.

Medical records showed two arm fractures and a hair line on the third rib; all common injuries found in small children who played on the more rocky terrains of the area. It was the fact that the injuries all happened within the space of six months. Either this kid just loved a good climb or something was up. Doctors insisted on an investigation but local neighbours vouched for the Uncle, emphatic that Yashamaru was a very gentle man, his nephew no more than a brat who threw is temper around and got hurt in the process.

Gai had seen a few cases like this in his own career and found a very familiar pattern that he called, 'Violent Outcry'. This, in his experience, meant that when a child is suffering from abuse they will act out in public places, sometimes aggressively, in hope that someone would see how unhappy they were. The main problem with expressing in such an angry and destructive way meant no-one else could see the pain, only the temper. Out bursts were the only way these kids could reach out because they knew no other way of dealing with a problem. When the only vocalisation techniques learned through a parent were nothing but cruel, violent and loud abuse, how was the child supposed to express any differently?

The grim tale led on to a call made by a neighbour, complaining of an incessant whaling and screeching coming from a few doors down. A knock on the door and no answer. Wouldn't have gone any further than that if it wasn't for the nosy investigator with nothing else to do that night. Gai couldn't quite read the rest of the massacre some over exaggerated reporter must have wrote down. _Murdering Monster on Rampage._ Sick people. Gai could only say how lucky Gaara must have been that Kurenai was vacationing in Suna at the time. She got him away from that place before they could throw him in the box.

Gai closed the folder, wanting to leave the rap sheets for another night to endure. Eventually he'd throw the thing away. _Here,_ is Gaara's life and home now. Until then, he'd have to keep a hold of it at the moment in order to create a suitable environment for Gaara to live in. The mustard coloured folder was shut firmly, air flowing over Gai's free hand along with a loose sheet of paper that managed to escape. As it landed on the edge of the couch, Gai noticed a major difference in it's format compared to the rest of the record; it was hand written.

_Hello there, Gai. It's Kurenai. As you can pretty much tell from the folder, Gaara's story isn't exactly abundant. I wish I could say that none of it is as bad as it seems but it's been some rough years. When Gaara first came arrived here, he was very anti-social and isolated himself from everyone. You can imagine the kind of attention that got him from some of the more hounding kids. All those incidents I had to write down, they were all provoked. It may not have seemed much but it gave me the indication that Gaara wasn't a naturally aggressive boy but, defensive of himself. _

_I exhausted every technique I knew at the time but with the other kids teasing him so much when I wasn't around it just caused him to jump back five steps every time. I believe he might have been lost forever if it weren't for his friends. You'll see them quite frequently by the way. It's like seeing three brothers who were split at birth and never want to lose sight of each other again. I believed in miracles the day those boys became friends. _

_The main reason I'm writing is to let you know the little details that the system deems unnecessary. Just little bits and pieces that might help off start the first few days. His favourite meal is spaghetti. No sauces, just nice and cold with a bit of salt. He's an extensive reader. If it has words, he'll read it. It's how he likes to pass the time at night. He likes to be outdoors as much as indoors but sometimes need the gentle reminder to come back in. He's naturally curious but, finds it difficult to ask sometimes. There's a tell tale sign that gives it away but, I'll leave that one for you figure out on your own._

_Summer is on it's way so, I hope it'll prove valuable free time for you all to get to know each other better. Send my love to Lee and Little Gaara and I wish you all happy memories. _

Gai felt touched by the letter. Kurenai really had a way with words sometimes. Lee had never been one of her kids but she looked out for him nonetheless. Her experience and influence played a huge role in giving that boy a family again and now she was doing her best to make it happen for Gaara.

The empty mug was left in the sink and the folder was tucked away in a cabinet along with a few old phone books. He switched the lights off to head for his own room when a faint, white glow came from the cracked door of Gaara's room Was he up? It was going past midnight now, a good few hours after he said he was calling it a night.

Gai was built with the frame of a giant but could be light on his feet when he had to. Taking a peek into the room revealed the light's source; a small flash light, clutched in a small, shadowed hand and hovering above a bundle of tattered pages bound in an old cover. It didn't look like much sleeping was getting done but, Gai wasn't going to be too picky. All the anticipation must be making it difficult to sleep. As the older man readied himself for bed he made a silent declaration; first thing tomorrow he'd make sure Gaara knew just how welcome he really was and make a breakfast worthy of a new, youthful beginning.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gai had awoken bright and brisk, ready to seize the day ahead of him. It was six-thirty in the morning and with every morning in the Maito household, a good warm up of five hundred sit-ups were welcome. Afterwards, it was a full, hearty and nutritious breakfast to help start a youthful day. All he had to do was wake the new member of the family.

Odd surprise to find the red head still already awake and still in the same place Gai saw him in last night. Had he been awake this whole time? No way. He didn't look drowsy or anything but it was a little difficult to tell wit those dark rims. Maybe it wasn't even that serious? Gaara could have just woken up and went back to reading until he could hear if someone else was up. Well, time to let him hear.

"GOOD MORNING, GAARA, ON THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY OF YOUTH!" Perfect. Truly splendid if Gai said so himself. He had entered the room marvellously, his arms spread wide and a smile so bright his teeth almost gleamed. Although, from the younger one's ears it was more like, BOOM! BANG! BELLOW! Thin arms shot up and sent the book flying in the air, carrying a loud shriek with it. As it landed in disarray on the floor, Gaara jumped to his feet, head and eyes darting everywhere, as if searching where that noise had come from. Ooops. Probably a little too loud for this time in the morning. Gai strolled over, rubbing the back of his silly noggin and intended to give Gaara a pat on the head for good measure. Too bad he couldn't see what he looked like through a frightened child's eyes. Tall became monstrous. Built turned into enormity. A stroll was a thundering march. The smile looked more like a viscous sneer and the out reached hand was really a fist, ready to beat Gaara to the ground for making such noise for no reason.

Get it away! Get it away! Get it away!

He had to stop it before it could hurt him. Anything! Do something before it hurts!

"Sorry about that Gaa-arrrrhhhhhgg!!!!!!" Gaara had lunged forward. Nails clawing roughly against the exposed skin and teeth plunging into the forearm. That flash of auditory pain signalled the little red head's chance to run, tearing the flesh beneath his incisors as he made a break for it. The opening was there and he dashed for it. 'Get away', was screaming inside his head all the was down the hall until he reached the front door.

Gai clutched the open wound, trickles of thick murlough curving around the tendon and dripping on the hardwood. He could hear loud banging thundering through the house. Quickly, he rushed to the source of the noise and found Gaara smashing his hands against the front door. Knuckles bashed their way into the thick surface and when they failed to break through, hands yanked the door knob to the point where the arms could pop out the sockets. Well, this was certainly a new one for Gai. In his career he'd been screamed at, threatened, had a few things thrown at him and nearly attacked by some over angry kids but, this was the first time he'd ever been bitten.

"Let me out! Let! Me! OUT!" It quickly dawned upon Gai that if he didn't stop Gaara soon, the kid was going to hurt himself badly. He marched forward, grabbed Gaara's wrists with the mightiest ease, pinned them to the boy's sides and wrapped his massive arms around Gaara's chest.

All Gaara's head really seemed to register was the feeling of being trapped and it was only getting tighter. His vision was manic and blurred. Everything felt like it was closing in and ready to crush him to pieces. It had caught him. He could feel his body being wrapped up tightly. It was going to squeeze him to death. Get away! Get away!

Man, this kid could really kick. Gai had to be extremely careful of just how firm he was holding Gaara. Too much and he could brake everyone of the kid's ribs. On the few times he was forced to do this before, Gai had pinned people's bodies to the ground, halting all movement until they used up all their energy trying to fight back. He hadn't gotten a proper grip though. Gaara was kicking and thrashing with half his body still free to flail frantically. The older man did his best to calm Gaara down but when anyone was in this much of a frantic state, sometimes they don't even hear their own screams. Gai's only chance was the hope that Gaara would run out of steam before he did but, there was no certainty that the kid wouldn't hurt himself like this. The point of pinning was to minimise self harm but this wasn't going to guarantee it.

Suddenly, the door swung open and a voice called over the loud shrieks.

"Oji-Gai! What's going on? I could hear that all the way down stairs" Gai could just catch glimpses of his nephew over the coarse hairs and skull trying to smash his face in.

"Lee! Pin his legs! Now!" Gai had trained Lee for situations like these in case someone flipped out during after school sports. Lee dodged and darted between wild legs. He managed to clutch both feet and once he did, he wrapped them under his right arm like he was holding a large scroll. Both of the bowl cuts immediately fell to the floor, Lee using his left arm and torso to hold Gaara's legs down while Gai forced just enough weight on Gaara's shoulders. Incoherent screams and helpless thumps against hardwood floors filled the apartment for a full, long, thirty-five minutes. Three bodies, stiff and exhausted. One a lot more than the other two. Gaara's head was spinning and swirling with a throbbing heading. A raw itch burned through his throat and the muscles in his legs felt numb. A deep voice came close.

"You okay now, Gaara?" A weak nod responded and both arms and legs were slowly released. Heavy pants escaped his lungs and tired eyes stared blindly at his knees. Timidly, he looked up and gazed around. There were dents in various parts of the door, a broken lamp lay in pieces on the floor and the rug was tousled and tumbled into every shape. His voice croaked like it had scratched sandpaper on the way out.

"I lost it again" Gai wasn't entirely sure how to respond to such a small and dishearten voice except, to finish what he started. The red head felt a large hand gentle ruffle his hair.

"What happened back there?" Gai had to find out what started all this to avoid it in the future and best do it now when it was still fresh rather than when the mind had time to fog over. The tension in Gaara's small shoulders was clearer than the local lake. Many people from Gai's teaching career had told him on previous occasions to avoid physical contact with pupils when they threw their temper around but Gai couldn't embrace that kind of logic when it seemed so stupid. Especially when this kid's body language just cried for affection. He casually eased the rigid muscles in Gaara's right shoulder.

"Did I do something to upset you?" A pale finger traced an invisible circle on the grains of wood below him.

"I….thought you were going to hurt me" Gai immediately brought a finger up to his lips, knowing his nephew would object to that kind of remark. "Sometimes, when I hear loud things, my head spins really fast. I see things differently and it always looks bad. Kurenai-Sensei says it's sensory overload, I think" Gaara's thin frame started to curl forward a little; shoulders hunched, head dipped and silently clawing the floorboards. "So stupid", he growled to himself. Gai repositioned himself, planting his backside on the floor by Gaara's side. The sudden movement had both boys looking his way.

"Gaara, you are _not_ stupid", he commanded. "It was an accident. Now listen carefully." Gai waved his finger to the right. "No-one is going to hurt you here. Understand? This is your home now, which means you'll always be safe here. Ok?" For a second, Gai thought Gaara had completely tuned out. There was no eye contact or even an indication that he was listening. He followed the boy's eyes and came the bloody mess coagulating on his forearm. Oh. He could see Gaara close to welling up and calling himself stupid again. That was something the older man really couldn't stand for.

"I did that?" Gaara croaked. Gai just waved a hand in front of him.

"Please! This is a mosquito bite to me, Gaara. Trust me, this won't even leave a scar." An almost forgotten voice spoke.

"Be a change for someone, other than yourself, to leave a scar, Oji-clumsy." Oh, that's right! Wow, this was certainly something for his nephew to come home too.

"Gaara," Gai out-stretched his arm, "meet Lee" The two boys met eye to eye which Gai found a little amusing considering the striking contrast in the pair of them. Lee had taken the time to sit on his knees. That really had been some surprise but Lee loved a good adrenaline rush in the morning. He just smiled and gave weak little wave.

"Sorry if I kicked you", Gaara mumbled timidly. Lee shook his head, his block-like fringe waving wildly as he did.

"It's fine! Really!" Lee beamed. "You've got to show me how you did that though" Tanuki eyes blinked.

"Did what?"

"Give Oji-Gai a fighting challenge! I've never seen him struggle that much. It was cool" Lee could feel his Uncle's tempered gaze on him but it was only another encouragement to Lee's teasing. His Uncle could never take a joke that well and it fun to probe every now and then at his Uncle's clumsy nature. "You have to admit it, Oji-Gai, that was pretty impressive for someone who doesn't wrestle" Gaara raised his hand a little, like he was asking a question in class.

"I wrestle" Two pairs of eyes looked at Gaara quizzically. "We used to play it all the time in the orphanage. Naruto always wins though." Lee suddenly raised his fists in the air.

"Splendid! How about after breakfast I'll show a move that'll floor anyone?"

Gai couldn't believe how quickly this was happening. He didn't think a conversation would flow this well until after a few weeks or even months. How did domestic warfare suddenly turn into swapping fight moves? Oh well, he wasn't going to complain. Instead he was going to make a marvellous morning meal and tonight, the rest of that folder was going to get read before anything else could pop it's ugly head up because of someone's ignorance. Before all that, he gave Gaara another quick pat on the head.

"Welcome home, Gaara"

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As i promised, i have treats.

Some pictures i've been working on starring you're favourite orphan boys: (had to put spaces in these, they kept deleting themselves for some reason. www. art /art/Reading -in-the-quiet-place-102660892

http:// mangamistress. deviant art /art/Lolita-Boys-107464677

http:// mangamistress. deviant art com/art/ Orphan-boys-photo-onthe-fridge-107466628

And now, here's the part where you guys come in. That little Lolita pic, does anyone actaully want to see that happen? It dosen't really have to play a huge part in the story, it could just be for fun lol

AND AND AND, remember that little 'tell tale sign' part Kurenai was talking about? What would you guys like that to be. I know it sounds like i'm scrounging for ideas but i love including other people's ideas in my work. It makes it more fun and often sparks more ideas^______^ I'll leave that with you guys. See ya next chapter!!!!!!


	5. Special Boys

**OMG! It's finally freakin' here. I checked the lat time i updated this thing, DECEMBER. Damn college. But that's this block's dealine up. We've got another one starting on monday but here's hoping I can get another chapter done before the work load starts to pile up. Thanks again for waiting guys. I hope you haven't forgotten me ;_;  


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How Orphan Boys Play**

**Ch5**

**Special Boys**

Nothing like a good game first thing in the morning. Two little boys were searching high and low for today's picture clue. When these two wanted to know where their third friend was, they looked to the fence of great wisdom. What you seek cannot hide from the great fence. Yeah right! It's more like a memorial to….well, what was once a nicer fence. However, it still served a useful purpose.

"Why does Sai always have to draw his clue in the deep end?" Gaara dragged his thin legs through the ocean of green, watching carefully for anything that might surface for a nibble of little boy. It was a great place to hide; full of high trees and grass and sometimes old animal burrows but, it's a hell of trek to trail through.

"You know Sai," said Naruto, climbing over a dead log. "He likes to give us a challenge"

"More like making us take longer so he can draw without us around" Naruto just grinned while side stepping a large rock. Gaara just always had to look for a bad side to everything. Kurenai once told the blonde it was a defence mech…mechani.…something. Whatever. All it meant to Naruto was he had to find the good side. He turned around, trailing backwards with the green blades brushing the backs of his knees.

"Hey, come on. If that were true then he'd never even leave us a clue in the first place" Gaara couldn't argue with that. Sai was weird sometimes but then, so was Naruto. He knew Sai wouldn't be that mean. He could say stuff without realising how rude it was but, he wasn't malicious. Sai just liked his quiet time and some space to draw but that's often a difficulty with a certain, restless someone. "Found it!" The red head nearly bumped into the blonde. The pair were close end of the old fence, a few more steps and they'd be trailing through the river bank. Sai must be working on something good again is he drew the clue this far down. Gaara tip-toed to look over Naruto's shoulders.

"What's it this time?" This was the fun part; Sai's clues were better than any mystery novel Gaara had ever read. They were just about the only two who could figure them out and that made it even more fun. Black markings against flaking white showed an outline of a circle with straight lines sticking out all the way around like needles in Kurenai's sewing cushion. Beneath was a silhouette of a see-saw with a frog and bushy tailed Tanuki on either end.

"Should have guessed"

XXXX

There was a small park on the east side of Konoha, almost completely hidden from view by a thick cluster of trees and woodland and would have continued that way if it weren't for three little boys playing ultimate tag. It was still in good condition too; the swing chains were rusty but you could still swing as high as the sky, the paint on the slide was peeling but it didn't scratch your butt like the all the other playgrounds and the see-saw could hold all three of them. (It also made a nice place to lay and stare at the sky) Sure enough, that's where Sai was. His long frame, clad in his favourite short black clothes, was laying length ways along the plank of wood; head and toes almost touching the handle bars. The sun was in the best spot of the day, flowing through gaps of the canopy and bathing the pale boy beneath in a subtle, summer warmth. He could feel the light suddenly being blocked from his direction. His umber orbs opened, expecting to see a pesky cloud but instead, was faced with green and blue.

"What took you guys so long?" Now he was met with a grouch and a pout. Sai didn't even bother to push away the finger prodding his nose.

"You drew your clue on the far side of the fence, dummy. That's what took us so long" Sai just casually closed his eyes.

"No", he cooed. "I drew it on the closest end. You just started at the wrong end" And there was sweet victory once again. Sai knew what he just said was complete nonsense but his ability to keep a straight face fooled Naruto every time and he just loved seeing the blonde have a temper tantrum over it. During this well known scene of verbal warfare, Gaara just found a comfy spot on the ground and waited patiently, silently thinking he could read a short novel in the time it would take these two to finish. How many times had Naruto led him through more thick than thin situations, just to find out there was an easy answer right at the start? Too many to count. Oh well, at least this time he wasn't fifty feet off the ground, swimming through leeches or tunnelling.

The trio rocked back and forth, Sai now standing and balancing easily as the other two pushed and landed lazily. Silent occasions between them were pretty rare, especially with Naruto but this time it was Gaara who broke the silence.

"So……we got adopted" A minute later and Naruto coaxed himself to speak.

"Yeah, pretty much" A couple of bounces later and he'd had enough. The blonde abruptly stood up, causing the other two to collapse like dominos and land in a pile. Quickly, the cheeky frog hopped over them and ran like crazy. The dirt and grit kicked up from under is feet while his friends hastily followed. The trio dashed and darted between the forest of dark and deciduous trees, their laughter running with them and their game. Sai ducked beneath the overhanging chunks of brown and green, chasing that mad, blonde orange and smiling widely as he did. Gaara carried his little legs as fast as he could. He may not be as fast as the taller two but he could keep up. Without warning, the boy at the front stopped and, just as sudden, crashed to the grassy ground as Sai slammed into him and Gaara came tumbling after. The three of them piled into dry leaves that flew above them and through the air as the boys laughed at the sky peeking over them. As they calmed down with the after burn of running, jumping and laughing, Naruto finally felt at ease.

"So what's it like were you guys stay?"

The other two answered almost in unison, "It's okay" Naruto grinned cheeks rising with a rosy cheer. For once he actually picked up on the hidden message.

"That's great! Means it went better than how we first met" He stretched his arms behind his head, feeling daisy petals tickle his finger tips. "Remember how that went?"

XXXX

Trouble, thy name is Uzumaki. Or at least it will be when Kurenai finds out what happened. The woman was sweeter than honey but the last time there was something in the house that didn't live there, that sweet went sour pretty quickly.

When you live in house with dozens of other kids, there's very little that you can claim as your own. Your clothes are hand-me-downs from who knows how many people and the toys are all shared and restricted to certain times. So, as soon as you find that something that you can proudly say belongs to you, you keep it close and tight. However, for most people, that something wasn't an amphibious pond dweller. And most people wouldn't let it run loose in a house where animals weren't allowed. Oh how few grey hairs Kurenai would have to dye if Naruto were like most little boys. Sadly, he wasn't and a bottle of black dye will continue to be purchased every month.

"Gamakichi! Get back in the box!" Oh, he really was going to get it this time. But Naruto just couldn't help himself. For weeks he's been hunting this beautiful beast of a toad. It's magnificent colour and strange black markings around it's eyes just beckoned to be captured by the little blonde. Hunting that toad brought out a truly wild spirit within the boy, like he was born to be toad himself. After weeks of tracking, following and failed traps, he finally caught the creature now known as Gamakichi. And now it was loose!

It had started as a simple trip to the kitchen, just to get a snack for himself and the resident of a shoe box. However, like most hostages trapped in a confined area, once an opening appears, they're gonna bolt for it. The toad went a leaping, some cereal went a flying and the blonde came tumbling after. Cornflakes were crushed to crumbs, barely breaking the fall. Naruto was sturdier than that though and a trip from the counter wasn't going to stop him losing his prize (and only) possession. There had been countless times when Naruto had been told to close the door behind him. If he had done when going into the kitchen, then he wouldn't be chasing a leaping lump of red through the dining room. Beneath the never ending table and in between numerous chairs and not even close. This toad was gonna put up a fight whether it had a chance or not. Too bad for another little boy who happened to be in the dining room looking for some peace and quiet. The child with skin as pale as peeled potatoes had sought a quiet place, desperately. Because today, he finally had some. Today, he finally managed to get some paint from the craft room. It was no more than a blob and wasn't even a real colour but, that tiny cup of black to Sai was like having the a whole palette because, he had to fight to get it. Well, not so much in the way of fighting and more getting pushed to the back and praying lots. After endless attempts, it finally paid off and now it was all his. No-one to bother him, no loud screeching, no flying glue bottles and no sequince being stuck to his hair. Just paper, peace and paint. Suddenly, the table jolted. Sai immediately reached out to grab the cup but, as he did, the table jerked again. Sai's small fingers fumbled frantically and he caught the plastic surface awkwardly. It popped from his hands like a bar of soap and fell to the floor. A small black splodge stained the floor but all Sai could see was red. Paper was unconsciously scrunched and ready to tear apart. Dark eyes never left the mark on the floor but the line of vision was blocked by a mess of yellow hair. The child beneath the table was too focused, for once, to notice the mess and the fury he'd caused around him. All he cared about was the toad making a get-away right out the dining room door.

As Naruto chased the escaped out the door, a white sheet was being shredded. Another pair of feet were now part of the chase. Naruto wasn't having much luck pursuing Gamakichi though. It could have been Naruto's imagination but he was sure that toad had deliberately tried to get him in trouble. He'd managed to run through two hallways and the foyer without being seen by anyone but there's only so far he could go before he got caught and this house was full of snitchers. For a moment, the toad suddenly halted, probably to catch his breadth. No wonder; he's been hopping up flights of stairs like he had springs instead of muscles for legs. Naruto picked up the pace when saw Gamakichi had stopped right outside the creepy stairs! No-one _ever _comes around here because of…..uh-oh. Naruto just remembered why no-one came around here; this is where the green eyed monster lives. For a while he'd heard stories of the Shukaku stairs; the wicked and blood thirsty demon that would wait at the top of the stairway and snatch curious children to eat for breakfast. Suddenly facing Kurenai didn't seem so bad. The blonde unintentionally slowed down, which meant his pursuer could finally catch up. One second, Naruto was gazing up the eerie flight of dark steps, numbly watching his toad hop further and further away, the next he was flat on the floor with a loud smack and just managing to protect his nose from being flattened against the hardwood. Blonde roots were yanked back and slammed back down just as quickly. Wild images of monstrous fangs were being pounded into Naruto's skull, literally. He quickly folded his arms to block his forehead from being turned into brain pudding.

"You ruined it!" What the? That doesn't like a mon-

"Ow! Get off!" The one on the floor swung his arm over his back, sending the one on top across the floor. Naruto's guess was right, it was just some kid! And as the unspoken law of children goes; 'you hit me. I hit you'. Naruto crouched and sprung from his legs just as the kid with black hair sat up. They slammed together in a pile and the each grabbed the others shirts aggressively. Sai threw his weight in a circle, trying to get the ruiner off him and tear the rest of his hair out but this pest was stronger than he looked. They scrambled madly like territorial dogs until the sound of a bigger dog made itself known. It was only a thud but it was where it came from that made the two boys freeze. Another thud and then another. It was coming down.

"That kid's coming down" Kid? He meant monster right? Naruto saw a pair of tiny feet pass the blind spot of the door way. Even from where Naruto was hunched over he could still see the dust caked onto the socks. Ankles. Knees. Waist.

Rrrrriiiiiiibbit

"Gamakichi!" Naruto heard before he saw and was ready to rush right up the stairs until something grabbed his wrist.

"Idiot. What are you doing?"

Naruto jerked his arm free. "Getting Gamakichi"

A tiny, dry voice spoke, "Is that his name?" A really small kid stood at the foot of the stairs. He had a short crop of blood red hair, his skin was almost as pale as Sai's and his eyes looked like they hadn't slept since he was born. He was holding the toad in his tiny hands but Sai was preventing Naruto from getting close enough to retrieve it.

"Don't go near him! He'll eat you"

Naruto blinked. "Eat me?" He looked back and returned to Sai. "He's smaller than you" Sai made an angry pout. For a moment he thought he should just let that monster eat this pest but if Kurenai-Sensei found out, he'd be in for it big time. "You know that kid who broke his arm last week?" A pale finger pointed straight at the red head. "He did that after trying to bite it off! And that real big kid who's got the burns, _he _did that from throwing hot soup on him. Then he tried to bite his leg off. He bites everyone cause he's a monster"

"No I'm NOT!" The two furthest from the stairs stared at the red head. He didn't look like he could even shout that loud. "I….I didn't mean to do it!" His teeth grit fiercely and his eyes flared madly yet not actually looking. What Naruto noticed most were the hands clamping tightly around a wailing toad. "I'm not a monster!" The angry child spread his arms wide in protest. He hadn't even done anything this time and was still being called a monster. Kurenai-Sensei keeps saying it'll get better. He'll make friends if he just tries but it's not happening. It feels like it'll never end. The name calling, the teasing the pushing and the shoving. Some days felt like they'd be a lot better if he just never left his bed and hid in the covers, away from everyone. But, sometimes it gets lonely under the covers. So, he kept trying. And trying. And trying. It's not getting better. "I'm not a monster!" What Gaara hadn't realised was how his hands had also spread widely. It was the loud smack against the wall that caused Gaara to freeze. The strangled croak that made his knees shake and the final thud on the floor that made his head turn and pupils shrink in horror. "No…..", came a tiny quiver. "I….I didn't…..I didn't mean-" He barely finished. Never even had a chance to look away before he joined the terminated toad on the floor. Tiny legs, clad in tattered shorts, curled into Gaara's stomach as if it would keep the teeth of pain from biting him more. It felt different from what he expected; someone punching him, and it wasn't how he thought it would happen either. All the other boys played punching and kicking games together but, they all laughed together. Gaara clutched his head tightly but he couldn't hold it in. Too much pain inside, now being ripped open by pain on the outside. He'd held in the cry for too long.

Naruto stood in awe. When he threw his fist at that monster, he'd been so angry. Seeing Gamakichi on his back brought out hatred beyond belief. He'd wanted to do so much more than punch. Kick, Tear. Claw. Everything to make that monster pay. Until he saw the boy crying his eyes out. The blonde turned with confused eyes to Sai, "I thought you said he was a monster?" The dark eyed boy just narrowed his gaze and clasped his hands behind his back.

"He is a monster. Just look at what he did to that thing he was holding" Sai did have a point but, there was something Naruto just couldn't shake off. It pinched the back of his shoulders and churned it's way down to his tummy. He saw the crying boy grow smaller with each step closer he took. Slowly, the blonde kneeled down next to the tight, crying ball. It was difficult to ignore the lifeless lump just across from him but Naruto kept his stomach down. Tentatively, he reached out, fearing that if he was wrong and this was a monster then he was about to lose some fingers.

Gaara flinched as something touched his head. Instinct screamed to get up and run before those two could hurt him more. Run back upstairs and hide in the dark forever, away from everyone for good. No one goes into the shadows. He'll be alone but safe, forever. But poor Gaara couldn't run. He was trapped. When he felt whatever had touched him, he had tried to run. But something caught him, keeping him in this place of hurt.

"Don't hurt me! Please! Let me go!" It had his foot, then his leg and soon the other. Why did Kurenai-Sensei say it was going to stop when it wasn't? It's never going to stop. It'll always be like this. All it will ever be is _monster._

"You're not a monster!" Nails that had been clawing savagely at the edge of the stairs suddenly stopped. Gaara bravely turned his head and nearly gasped aloud at the fierce eyes staring into him. "I know you're not a monster" Gaara couldn't stop shaking. The lump in is throat grew larger, squeezing tear after tear from his wide eyes. As Naruto's eyes turned away, Gaara's followed them. Both pairs faced the deceased creature between them. "You killed him" Gaara winced, expecting that to have been shouted but instead, it was soft. "But you didn't murder him. That's what a monster does" Even though he told himself so many times, being called a monster everyday by so many people makes it harder to believe you're not. Hearing someone else say it was confusing the red head.

"How….*hic*…..do you know that? *hic* I've always been a monster. Everyone says so. Even my*hic*uncle." *hic* Naruto could finally let go of Gaara's legs. The blonde crawled until he was at the read head's side, face to face.

Whenever Naruto felt scared or sad, he would always hide it and no-one could tell. Except one person. She always gave you a hug to make you feel warm. She would let you cry with no-one around to see or hear. She always gave you a kiss and let you know you are her special boy.

Gaara was pulled into something he'd never shared with another person. Kurenai had tried to so many times but he was too scared to get so close. His tiny, shivering arm felt the beat of two hearts pressed against them. Warm hands nestled on his back as if trying to pull him in even closer. It was like they pressed some sort of button inside. Everything bad. Everything scary. Everything dark. It was like it was all melting around him. He could have cried more when those arms pulled away a little but the warmth moved somewhere new. Naruto presses is lips to Gaara's forehead, just like Kurenai. Just like all those late nights of secret crying. Goodnight kisses. Then, something amazing happened. Naruto realised the reason why Kurenai was always so kind to him. It was the smile. It was the tiniest string of a smile but it was there and it was proof. Monsters don't smile. "They don't cry either"

"Huh"

Little did they know, a third boy was looking pretty disgusted by the whole thing. "What are you doing? Are you trying to get killed?" Sai whipped his head and growled at the closest wall. "What do I care? I hate you anyway" That part caught Naruto's attention. In reaction, he stood and marched straight over to the brat he just remembered had tackled him earlier.

"What the heck did I do to you, loony? And what'd you jump me for?" Idiot. Stupid. Stupid idiot. He didn't eve care and he was acting like he never even knew.

"You ruined it", Sai growled.

Naruto held his arms out wide in disbelief. "Ruined what you nutcase!" That jerk. He really thinks he can get away just by pretending it never happened. No way. Not gonna happen.

"My paint! You spilled it all over the floor chasing that ugly thing!" Now that got Naruto pumped up for another clobbering but he'd already had two fights in the space of few minutes and wasn't about to get in trouble for a third, unless this brat gave him a good reason to.

"Then just get more, pig brains! Duh."

"I can't, cat face. Everyone else is too big and I can't get to anything. But I finally did and you ruined it!" Sai's throat tightened and his teeth gnashed. He never got angry. Never. But this…. Idiot. He won't cry. Not in front of him. Not like that other kid over there. Boys shouldn't cry. That woman keeps trying to get him to talk about his feelings and junk. Why can't he just be left alone?

The familiar sound of steps echoed behind the pair of angry boys. They looked to see that red haired kid was gone. Barely a moment later and he was hopping back down again with something in his hand. For a moment, the fear was gone. Gaara was standing next to two other boys with a blank face and holding out a black pen to the one that called him a monster.

"It's not paint but you can draw with it right?" A beam of sunlight peeked through the window, gently glowing over the crossing dirt paths.

Rrrrriiiiiiibbit

"Gamakichi! You're alive!" A bouncing blonde turned bright with glee at that sound. He plucked a stunned toad from the floor and couldn't wait to show them. While his back was turned, something amazing happened again. Sai, had begun to cry and Gaara, had given him a hug. "Hey, don't leave me out!"

**The path we are born on may be shrouded by trees with no light to show the way.**

**But don't worry my special boy, the sun will hear you cry and will shine just for you.**

**He will bring you a new path of flowers and love.**

**But remember, me special boy, always thank the sun for each ray of shine and every cloud that makes you remember how much brighter he make your path.

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I feel like I've kinda killed Sai's character a bit. I'm him show so much emotion (mostly anger ^^;) when i was trying to keep as close to the manga personalities as possible. But i guess with the surroundings and the story line, i've gotta add more to get more.**

Oh, btw, I want to start a small project involving you guys who have been reviewing so nicely to me ^____^ Some of you may have seen the pics i've been working on to go with this. Well, i really want to make more but i don't have all the time I want to work on them. Soooooooooooooooo, i'm asking you guys to draw your fav scenes of what's happened so far and i'm gonna mix 'em into an amv with the song that inspired this story. If you want to take part, can you let me know? Thanks again and i'll do my best to update sooner. Bye  



	6. Camp

Hey Guys. Your patience has been reswarded!!! It's the new chapter!! I had my best mate go over this part with me to make sure it was all lovely and pretty jsut for you lot ^_^ I took the advic of Zimmrie Kanoah and just took my time with this. it was good advice. It took me while to get all this done but it was worth it.

I also have a little game for you guys too. This chapter is rated NC-17. your challenge is to spot all the hints that lead up to the final part LOL Anyone who figures out the initial clue will be given a prize of a spoiler of future chapters(if they want) Plus, my emial has been broken for a good while so if you guys have been trying to send pictures for teh AMV i might not have gottent hem. if you stil want to take part, plaese send me a note on my DA account please. CYA!!!!

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Oak and pine as tall as towers. Vast and glorious mountain tops. Streams of crystal water. Glimmering evening skies. Roared red fires and warm, rosy sunrises. At least, that's what it said in the books. But little Gaara was becoming a bit sceptical, despite the numerous volumes of text he accumulated over the last few days since Naruto's announcement; they were all going camping this weekend. Not just the boys but, the adults too. Schools were out for summer already but the teachers stay and extra week to finish off paper work. When this is over, it marks the beginning of Iruka's annual camping rip. Normally, it was used as a getaway from the village for a while; to relax, enjoy the calm of the wilderness and not worry about a single thing for a whole week. Things were going to a little differently this year and most likely for years to come. Iruka was looking forward to it all but had a feeling he was he was going to need a new getaway. When Iruka told Naruto they were going camping for a weekend, the kid hit the roof. He ran in a mad circle for nearly ten minutes before Iruka had the chance to ask if he wanted to bring his friends too. Word of mouth got around and soon, not only were his friends going but, so were their parents too. Not that Iruka it bothered Iruka, just so long as they brought their own equipment.

When Gaara heard the news, he realised little to nothing about camping or what it was like. So, like any time Gaara came across something he wasn't sure about, he went straight to the library and got hold of anything that could fill in the blank. If it did anything, it confused him even more. There was just so much controversial information. While one text boasted about the health benefits of the outdoors, other were brandishing it as a waste land with the sole purpose of housing smelly beasts and biting bug. Some even went to the extreme of poetry to express their opinion. Which, didn't make much sense to Gaara either. The closest mountain was nearly a kilometre away according to the maps and he couldn't imagine how it was possible for the sky to look so different in so many words, it's the sky, how different can it get from day or night. Gaara realised how close it was to dinner time when Lee finally found him.

"There you are!" There was a wild shush from the librarian who looked like she could kill with a single stare if she took off those glasses. "Have you been here all day?" Lee whispered as he tiptoed to the table where Gaara had boxed himself in. He looked a little tired, even for him. Lee glanced over the small stack of books, not quite believing Gaara could have read all these but then, not quite ready to throw out the possibility.

"I want to know more about camping. We're going tomorrow and I still don't know that much. These books don't really coheres with the landscape around here and I think this poet believed a mountain was talking to him" Lee just blinked as Gaara let his heavy head sink to the table. Even with that quiet voice, that was more familiar to the rules of this place than Lee was, is was easy to tell the red head had worn himself out with research. Lee bent forward, arms folded across the table with two towers of books on either side of his bowl cut head.

"Gaara, you don't need to know about camping to go camping" Dark eyes peeked up, with an obvious, 'I'm not convinced', look.

"That's like saying you don't need to know how to jump to play jump-rope." Lee just grinned

"But you don't. If you knew how to do it before you did it, then where would the fun be? It'd be boring that way" The sudden lack of dark eyelids indicated to Lee that he managed to get his point across. There was a silent moment between the pair which Gaara occupied by sucking his index finger.

'_Hmmmm. He doesn't quite get it', _Lee thought to himself. "Tell you what," said Lee, standing proudly with a hand on his hip and one pointing in the air, "Give camping a try without knowing a thing about it. If it turns out I'm wrong, I'll eat raw eggs and spinach smoothies for a week.!" There he goes again with those weird challenges. There's be no point in arguing, he'd do it anyway even if Gaara didn't give Lee a reason. Gaara had no choice.

"You're on" Lee struck the air but kept the cheer to himself.

"Let's go home now, Oji-Gai's making spaghetti and meatballs" The second those words left Lee's lips, Gaara scrambled with as many books as he could carry and hurriedly put them back on their shelves. "Can't you leave them on the table?" While balancing three thick ones, Gaara pointed towards a sign with bold, red letters, PUT THEM BACK. I'M NOT YOUR SLAVE. Not daring to look over his shoulder, Lee grabbed a bunch of hardbacks and quickly helped his little brother before they could head home

XXXX

Sai had never been camping before but, he's seen enough pictures to have a good idea what it would be like. There used to be an old magazine in the orphanage, full of large ponds and old men fishing. Sai used to copy the pictures when he could. At the time, he was too young to wander too far from the orphanage, let alone the village, and Kurenai was strict about where you could play. So, that little magazine was probably the first real experience at landscape. There wouldn't be much difference. It'd be no different from there private play park, just bigger puddles and more trees. It wasn't until he and Yamato got past the main gates of Konoha that Sai realised how wrong he was. Towers of leaves that must of stretched for miles, gaping holes in the land the size of a hundred houses and filled to the brim with sky blue water. All around him were tree that he would never learn the names of but would gladly stand between them all day and breath in those amazing smells.

"You don't get outside the village much do you?" Sai's head must have been somewhere else. Weird, he didn't normally day dream.

"No. Not really" It'd been a few weeks since Sai had moved in by now, Yamato was getting used to those short sentences. It was interesting to see the boy's reaction to all this though. As they walked, Yamato kept looking over his shoulder, making sure Sai didn't fall down a hole while starring though the canopy with an open mouth. Yamato remembered Kurenai's old rule about going outside the gates when he was little. She couldn't have her little ones wandering around half the village or in a forest and disappearing every day. It wasn't as if there weren't plenty of high places around Konoha that allowed you to see over the grate gate. However, Yamato was also growing accustomed to Sai's perception of the world; the kid didn't really bother or pay attention to anything unless it was happening to him. Suddenly, there was a loud screech that shook several birds from their nests.

"HEY SAI!!" Every time Yamato had to endure the presence of the loudest creature known to man, he felt like he needed a new set of eardrums. A quick flash of orange and yellow zoomed by the tall and deafened adult and slammed to a halt in front of Sai. "You're finally here! Isn't this place amazing? Gaara's here too and so is his family. Wait 'till you see these guys. They've got eyebrows the size of my foot. C'mon!" The flashed zoomed by once again along with a short shirted follower. Yamato stood perfectly still for a moment, knowing to certain extent this could be his last moment of peace for the next week.

'_That kid's got some set of lungs on him' _

By the time Yamato caught up with the pair, eh found himself wandering into some sort of clearing at the end of the foot eroded path. It was one of those crop circles that seemed to pop up in the newspaper every week; a wide barren circumference of land, surrounded by thick trees apart from another small path that looked like it might lead to a lake. From what Yamato could make out, the place had been used frequently; several stones of different sizes were arranged into rectangles, there was a patch of black ash that had soaked into the ground after weeks of rain and parts of grass no longer grew after the repeated foot patterns that had crossed over it. There was a brief exchange of waves between the adults, followed by the massive bellow from a giant of a man with a bowl cut for hair-do. Sai had warned Yamato about this guy after coming home one day with sore ears and a headache. Once Yamato was granted the freedom to move again and could unload his things, he met Naruto's guardian, Iruka. This guy seemed friendly enough and polite as hell. It didn't bother Yamato too much though, he was used to having the girls in the tea houses address him formally. Iruka was just about to offer a helping hand with Yamato's tent when he suddenly dashed towards the boys after hearing a loud yelp. From the corner of his dark eyes, Yamato had seen Naruto fiddling with the support rope at the top of the tent while Sai secured the ground hooks. Gaara had been inside, holding it all up so they could put it together faster. Now, it was like there was a ghost rising from the ground and was quickly getting tangled. It was an innocent enough accident but the red head didn't look too pleased at the blonde who had let the ropes slip. Yamato just shrugged it off, not knowing this was only the start.

Yamato had already witnessed Naruto's hyperactive nature before and lack of volume control but he's yet to see the clumsy side. The next day started with a bright, crisp morning and a fishing lesson. Iruka only had one rod though but the Sai and Gaara didn't really seem to care much for it anyway. Sai was happy enough to just watch and Gaara has nose in a tattered old book he had brought with him. Yamato was surprised to say the least to see Naruto picking up fishing so well and by the look on Iruka's face, he was surprised too. The afternoon rolled around and the sun was just perfect for lying under. While Yamato found a comfy spot underneath a fresh pine, the boys seemed quite content on a massive log that must have been a something splendid in it's prime but had now become a bench that lay a few meters out into the lake. The scent of the morning catch, being cooked by Iruka and Gai, was strong in the air. Apparently those two worked in the same school together but because they worked on different sides, they had never really interacted much. However, they were getting along like they had been friends since childhood. Iruka turned from the fire, "Lunch is ready!"

It was one of those moments where you can just predict the next few seconds but your mouth and body can't quite catch up. Naruto had risen to his feet, excited as ever to try his first ever catch but, as he spun around, the rod went with him. Sai had ducked in time but little Gaara hadn't. The red head was literally smacked right out of his own little world. The metallic tube thwacked the back of his head, sending the poor kid flying face forward into the water. While the book somehow managed to land safe and sound, little Gaara scrambling for the surface. Thankfully, the water wasn't exactly deep but the kid was soaked from head to toe. Yamato couldn't see it but he could sense a fierce glare being thrown Naruto's way from behind that wet mop of red hair. While all this was going on, Yamato had noticed Sai's lack of reaction to it all. He knew the kid didn't exactly care for much but to just sit there while his friend was half drowning and the other was begging for forgiveness seemed a little inconsiderate, even for Sai. Similar mishaps just seemed to continue throughout the week. All because of Naruto, just being Naruto. The blonde digs a hole, covers it up to look like a trap in a cheap cartoon, forgets about it and manages to case Gaara straight into it while playing tag. It took an hour to get Gaara back out again, mainly due to a certain someone forgetting where the hole was. Yet, through it all, Gaara didn't say a word and Sai didn't do anything. There were trips and falls, scrapes and bruises but the true disaster was on the forth day with the squirrel. Gai's eldest, Lee was it? He had a strange…..connection with the furry creatures. They seemed to pop up where-ever the green clad teen went. He'd be doing push-ups and one would sneak under him for some shade, other times they would just jump on his shoulder for no apparent reason and once, when Yamato went to go wake Lee and Gai up, there was little ball of brown sleeping soundly on the smaller bowl cut. The bizarre affinity caught Gaara's attention. From Yamato's point of view, the two made a really odd set of brothers; they couldn't really pass off as blood relatives and their personalities seemed to go in opposite areas. Yet, something about them just clicked when the were around each other. The 'skill', as Gai had put it, looked like it was on the contagious side. The bushy tailed critter happily hopped from bowl cut to red head, chippering away like nothing bad could ever happen. Of course it did though, and big guess what it was.

"Woah! Gaara! You can talk to squirrels just like the bushy brows!" That voice felt like it growing louder every god damn time this kid spoke. The massive pitch scared the living crap out of the squirrel to the extreme where it's fur stood on end. The little brown critter shrieked madly and leapt at the first thing it could get it's claws could find. Gaara's face. Yamato bolted for Gaara as fast as he could, the other adults right behind him before the red head's eyes could get torn out. As luck would have, whether good or bad, the boys had been standing by the small dirt cliff that over-hanged the water edge. Same result in the end. Poor Gaara was soaked again, with a couple of scratches to add. Once again though, without fail, Sai hadn't really done much to help. He'd gotten up at the sound of that cry for help. So that, at least indicated he showed some concern but it was like Sai could care as much for Naruto and Gaara as someone would a dead plant.

When dinner came by, not even Gai's razor sharp sushi knife could cut through the tension. Two massive logs sat on opposite ends of the fire. Yamato, Sai, Lee and Gaara were on one and Iruka, Gai and Naruto were on the other. They were in the middle of dinner, during which Gai was doing his absolute best to break the silence with small talk. Naruto's personality was pretty open so, when his usual animal appetite drew to a slow halt, the worry became quite evident on Iruka's face. The blonde may not have been interested in his food but he kept both eyes on his skewered fish. Yamato wouldn't look up either if he had that look being fired in his direction either. It had to be the deadliest glare Yamato had ever seen and no wonder; none of them had exactly brought a lot of clothes since they'd be getting grubby most of the time and it would save on big wash when the trip was over. Poor little Gaara though, had been going through a bit more wear and tear than the rest of the group. As a result, all he had left that wasn't torn, ripped, burned or lost was drying over the fire place. All the kid had left to his name were a pair kaki shorts, a baggy white t-shirt and the underwear he was wearing. Needless to say, the kid had to be a bit embarrassed having to sit to sit like this with people he didn't really know too well. Gaara ripped a shred a scale from his trout, never taking his eyes off the blonde. Were they going to be like this for the rest of the week?

Since boys will be boys, Iruka had taken the initiative to bring a bottle of ketchup. Yamato wasn't really too fond of the stuff since it often dulled the taste of the actual food. He passed it around and it appeared Iruka's plan ahead attitude was going to be in vain. No-one wanted so much as a drop which really surprised Yamato. He suddenly had a childhood flash back of the numerous fights that had been caused by ketchup back in the orphanage. Maybe that's where his distaste originated? The bottle reached Naruto, who was probably the least interested. Nonetheless, it was another excuse to keep his head down. Yamato attempted to help Gai ease the tension and Iruka followed pursuit. At the same time, Yamato was keeping watch from the corner of his eye; Sai just continued to nibble in peace, Gaara had actually let down his glare a little to talk to Lee and Naruto seemed to be struggling with the bottle of red sauce.

Uh-oh.

Yamato could feel it happening again; his eyes were seeing those few seconds into the future but, once again, his body was fixed in place. He could only watch as Naruto shook the bottle once, the twice with no prevail and a final slam against his knee. A massive, red worm flew from the nozzle that Naruto had stupidly directed away from his food. It made a clear, splat-landing directly on Gaara's face. Naruto winced as if he were in great pain. Everyone, even Sai, had stopped at the sound of the squelch. They all watched anxiously as Gaara wiped the red mess from his eyes with both hands, revealing the green eyes glared once again. The read head held out his hand and gestured for Naruto to him the bottle. The blonde obliged without a second thought. With Gaara's free hand he handed his half eaten fish to Lee. Everyone waited. Then, Naruto gulped. Like the sound off shot at a race, Gaara sprung from his post like a streak of red lightning and struck Naruto to the ground with a fierce roar. The pair rolled like a cascaded dice until Gaara had the upper hand. Using his feet, Gaara had pinned Naruto's ankles down. The boys were roughly the same weight and build so that was a struggle for dominance but, Gaara used every ounce of power he had to keep Naruto flat on the ground while pulling that bright, yellow mess right back and shove the ketchup bottle right up Naruto's nose. Everyone sprang from their seat to attempt to separate the pair, except for Sai how just held his hand up at the rest of them.

"Don't bother" Sai went back to nibbling on his fish. This was actually starting to peeve Yamato right off now. What kind of friend just sits and watches while his two best friends nearly killed each other? "They won't forgive you if you stop them" Despite the sheer lack of tone, Sai's words struck a chord of worry. Yamato placed his massive hand on that tiny head of black hair and turned Sai to face up.

"What is going on with you today? They're about to knock each other's teeth out" Yamato tried to keep his calm but a hint of frustration was breaking through.

"This happens all the time", Sai replied. "Naruto's clumsier than duck on ice. Gaara knows that too so he tries not to get angry over it. But, you know, sometimes you just gotta let it out. So Gaara might as well throw it at Naruto. This way, Naruto doesn't feel so guilty. They'll be back to normal soon" Yamato looked back at the others and just shrugged. They all knew it, but hated to admit that Sai knew those two better than they did and the kid's blunt and direct approach made a lot of sense. Reluctantly, the adults and Lee sat back down. While most of them tried to distract themselves, Yamato tried talking to Sai more. The kid had just spoke more in the last two minutes than he had in the last few weeks. Might as well try and get more out of him and work out that head of his.

"How come you never tried to stop them? Or all the stuff that's happened this week?" Sai took another bite, not even making eye contact.

"Cause. If I did then Naruto would have felt bad for weeks for ruining the trip. I can't stop him doing stupid stuff and there's nothing to do when it's already happened." He took another bite and shrugged his shoulders. "I'd make it worse if I got in the way" It was smart, logical and there was nothing wrong about it. It was just….weird to hear such a rational response from a twelve year old. But then, Yamato was learning every day that Sai was a little on the weird side.

A scenario was playing through the older man's head. What would have happened if he and the other adults had broke up Naruto and Gaara from their fight? Obviously they would have never gotten to finish and, if Sai was right, Gaara would have continued being pissed off while the guilt would have ate Naruto up. It might have even swallowed their friendship. They'd end up avoiding each other and stopped being friends altogether. Yamato retrieved his own fish that he had tossed on the fire. It was nearly burnt to a crisp but he liked it that way. This just gave him the excuse. After taking a bite, he gave Sai a pat on the back, That got the kid to take his eyes of his food. "What was that for?"

"For being a good friend. Word of advice though," he took a chunk a chunk of charcoal into his mouth, "maybe trying to stop the stupid from happening might not be a bad idea".

"Tired that. Besides, it's more fun to watch. And look, Gaara's winning this time" By now, Gaara had Naruto in a pretty mean head lock, still trying to shove the bottle up the blonde's nose. It was sharp dig of the right elbow between the shoulder blades that made Naruto squirm just long enough to fill a nostril with half a bottle of tomato. The stuff went everywhere! All over Naruto's face and front and when he tried to pin Gaara back down again, the sauce spread all over the red head too. Just when it looked like the blonde was getting the upper hand, Gaara managed to slam his shoulder right into Naruto's chest. The second the guard was down, Gaara grabbed the forearm and threw Naruto's entire weight right over his head. It looked like it was over. The pair huffed and puffed until Gaara stormed off in the direction of some thick trees. Naruto raised his limp hand in the air.

"Wad de kedchup nedessary? I'll be sneeding dis stuff for a weeg!" A blackened fish lay half eaten on the ground. Dropped from the mouth of a dumb struck adult who had just witnessed madness. How often did Sai put up with this? This kid was braver than he was.

"Where's he off to?" Yamato asked.

"To pee," came the answer, "he does that after every fight" The man couldn't even finish chewing what was left of his meal.

"Did I need to know that?"

"No". Maybe there was a reason Sai didn't talk much in the first place.

Lee was keeping it to himself but, he felt an immense sense of pride right now. He's taught Gaara that elbow trick a while ago and was feeling pretty proud about how well his little Brother pulled it off. Gaara really had a lot of strength in him when he was angry. Lee had the feeling that his Uncle has the feeling that his Nephew was responsible for that victory. Before he could be scolded for teaching moves without supervision, Lee grabbed Gaara's clothes from the wire over hanging above the fire and rushed off to give his little Brother something warm to dry to wear before the cold, night air swept in. Lee quickly took off in the direction Gaara had stormed off. It didn't take long to that bright head of hair.

"Hey Gaara! Your stuff's dry!" Lee beamed inwardly, excited about congratulating his little Brother on a splendid victory. It was a little grittier and messier than normal but it was still a victory. Gaara could hear the rustling of nearby bushes but he didn't need that to know Lee was close by. The red head often wondered if he would be able to hear Lee even if they were at opposite ends of the village. Gaara called out just as he was reaching down to pull his briefs up from his ankles.

"Ow!" Something sharp yanked his hair. _'Ah! Must have got caught on a branch or something'. _But, now he was stuck in a position that he really didn't want to be seen in. '_This is gonna hurt'. _He braced his heels and yanked his head up hard. Lee passed by a tree when a sudden flash of red came and went in the blink of an eye. There was loud thump, followed by a very displeased grunt. Lee leaned over the wall of bushes and found his little Brother fighting again. Only this time, it was with a large patch of green stars.

"Uh-oh" Gaara managed to sit up right, trying to pluck these annoying leaves from his underwear and where else they managed to stick.

"What's the 'uh-oh' for? What am I sitting in Lee?"

XXXX

That night, Sai's premonitions were, well indeed, on their way. Everyone seemed a lot cheerier now that Naruto was back to his old self. The tension had really lifted.

"You still itchy, Gaara?"

"I'm covered in a Poison Ivy rash. YES! I'm itchy dammit! Ow!" Gai just gave Gaara a sharp tap on the head, probably the only place that didn't itch.

"Language, Gaara"

"Sorry". Gaara meant that. He wasn't fond of swearing himself but the urge to scratch was driving him nuts.

"Tilt your head forward, Gaara" For the last half hour, Gai had been applying some sort of pungent cream to the nasty red rash. It helped to cool the skin but Poison Ivy loves a fight. And Gaara wasn't going to be able to put up much of one with dish towels taped to his hands. That Iruka guy is way too prepared. Sai had been given the job of making sure they stayed taped. So far, Sai had thwarted three attempts at escape.

All the 'excitement' must have been pretty tiring. Not long after the sun had set, the boys were dozing off by the heat of the fire. Eventually they were so out of it they had to be lead to their beds. The adults let the trio sleep in the one tent to keep it simple. Yamato and Iruka agreed to bunk together for the night. Even little Gaara looked like he's be out for the count, which was a relief for Gai. For the last few weeks he's been keeping an eye on Gaara's sleep pattern as best as he could, worried about the boy's health. He'd never personally know anyone with insomnia before he knew Gaara, but had heard plenty of stories of physical deterioration and severe mental distress. It took Kurenia three solid hours to convince the hot headed, bowl cut that Gaara's sleeping habits were normal for him. He'd been that way since he was very young and they had faced the health problems long ago. The red head was very resilient against doctors expectations. There were a few fever and migraines but the immune system adapted to cope over the years. Gai still worried though like the doting parent he is. Soon Lee was yawning like the younger boys and found his own tent in good time. Although, his eyes didn't appear to be open the whole time he had sat up, wandered to his sleeping bag and changed into his sleeping clothes. Maybe Gai should be a little more worried about that.

The fire crackled with an orange glow, spreading waves of warmth into the surrounding darkness. Three cans clanked together, toasting another day gone fairly well. Two cans were chugged while the third was sipped. But all three holders slumped in the end, feeling pretty exhausted. Yamato sighed aloud, "What. A. Day"

Gai raised his can into the air, "You said it"

Iruka craned his neck to the sky, eyes closed. "And I bet they'll be back to normal first thing tomorrow" He looked back the other with an almost lazy expression. "Are Sai and Gaara half as much work as Naruto is?" Gai brought the can to his lips, thinking how he could put this lightly. He disliked having an honest conscience sometimes.

"Well, in his own way. At least Naruto's not shy about what's on his mind", he laughed. Gai admired anyone who was openly spoken but had never met anyone as young as Naruto with such enthusiasm. Except for Lee of course. He could see that quality lurking in Gaara somewhere but it still finding it's way out. "I can never really tell what's on Gaara's mind sometimes. He does this really cute thing where he sucks his finger and tilts his head when he's trying to buck up the nerve to ask something" Gai grinned.

"I rather that with Sai sometimes", Yamato added after a quick swig. "I **know **what's on his mind and I'm half scared to leave him because of it" Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"He doesn't like how blank the walls are in the house and I **know **he keeps a marker tucked away in his pocket. There's this creepy look in his eye when he think I'm not in the room" The three of them sat in silence for just a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. Iruka nearly spilled his can over himself and Yamato had even doubled over. It looked like parenthood with these boys was going to be very interesting.

XXXX

Naruto is a pillow biter. Every morning, without fail, you would find him either chewing, biting or cuddling the feather filled delicacy. It was usually a sign that he was having a happy dream and Gaara really didn't want to take his friend away from it but he really needed Naruto's help right now.

"Naruto", he whispered. "Naruto" Dreams of hot and spicy ramen with extra pork were slowly bring drained away from the blonde's dreamy eyes. The puddle of drool soaking into his pillow was leaving a hot and sticky patch against his cheek. A moment later he was aware of the hand shaking him.

"Wha…Gaara?" He rubbed his eyes while rolling onto his back. It was still dark. Naruto took a long yawn before he could shake more of the sleep off. "Is something' up? Did you have that nightmare again?"

"It wasn't the nightmare" Sai was up too? That got Naruto sitting upright. Sai had that look, the one that usually meant he was being serious about something and Gaara looked spooked out his mind. "I heard Gaara talking to himself. I asked what was wrong and…." Sai never stammered. "We…think it might be the Poison Ivy"

"What is?" Gaara and Sai glanced at each other. The red head looked like he was about to cry. What the hell was going on?

"Show him", Sai said firmly. It wasn't until now that Naruto noticed how Gaara had been covering the front of his underwear. The white of Naruto's eyes grew wider as the white of the briefs was revealed. It didn't take a genius to figure out was pitching a tent in the tent. Gaara's lip trembled.

"S-something's wrong with my ochinchin". Naruto's throat squeaked, not exactly helping Gaara's worried state.

"Do you think it was that cream?" Sai asked. Gaara turned his head swiftly.

"it couldn't be. Gai said it was to help the rash. He would have told me if it did something like this" Gaara suddenly scrambled to the front of the tent, fidgeting with the zipper and failing to get it open. "I've got ask him! This might be really bad. I need to-"

"I know what it is" Gaara stopped and looked back at Naruto. His face changed its expression various times, as if Gaara couldn't decide if he should be relieved or not.

"Naruto…?" The blonde couldn't bare to look into those green eyes. Not since he's been the cause of another disaster for Gaara.

"I….think you caught it. From me" Idiot. IdiotIdiotIdiotIdiot. Just when things were getting better, Naruto felt like he's ruined it all over again. The thought of why Gaara was even friends with him in the first place often plagued Naruto's thoughts. Gaara nearly flinched Naruto suddenly looked up. Naruto's eyes could be really scary sometimes, especially when he was mad. But, these were the eyes that made him feel safe when he was younger; nights where demons of forgotten times used to keep awake for days at a time. There are times when they still do but knowing his friends were just two beds away made the long nights easier to bare. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're just…."Naruto fumbled for the right words, "blocked up".

"What?" The other boys said in unison. Naruto crawled out from beneath the covers and instructed Gaara to sit down with his legs out. For some reason, Sai had to behind the red head to make sure he wouldn't move around too much? Too much for what? What was going on?

"I need to take your underwear off okay?"

"What?!" Gaara swiftly shuffled back, nearly crushing Sai against the back of the tent and the rock holding a hook down. "You're not……going to touch me** there **are you?"

"Well, yeah. We gotta get it out"

"Get what out?"

"The milk" There was a long, deafening pause. Gaara couldn't even move his lips and Sai wasn't sure what to believe. The dumbfounded pair could only watch as Naruto tugged on Gaara's briefs. They travelled as far as the knees when Gaara yanked his legs close to his chest.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto sat back on his knees with his arms folded, trying to think if how to explain this. He didn't quite understand it himself. For some reason, on old commercial popped into his head.

"It's kinda like trying to get the last of the toothpaste out of the tube" Sai leaned over Gaara's shoulder a little.

"You once squeezed the toothpaste so hard it hit the ceiling"

_Jeez. Thanks, Sai. You're a big help. _

"I promise that won't happen! Gaara." Piercing blue eyes looked directly into watery emerald orbs. "I just wanna help. I swear" Those blue eyes dipped to the floor. "Please", came a sheepish voice. "I've ruined this trip enough already. Please let me fix it" A pair of feet came into vision. Naruto looked up in surprise. Even though Gaara was looking away, Naruto could tell he had been given the O.K.

A strange, tingling sensation was prickling through Naruto's finger tips. His chest felt tight as his heart pumped erratically. It just felt so weird doing this. Even though Naruto wasn't exactly the type to worry about getting his hands dirty, this just felt a little wrong. There was dirty and then there was the place you pee out of. But, Naruto made a promise and Gaara needed his help. Raw, red patched blossomed over Gaara's legs, the heavy scent of cream rising in the air. A large lump was swelling in Naruto's throat. He knew what he had to do. He tried to wrap his fingers around the base of the shaft but all they could do was just gently poke the hardened skin. Gaara gasped, unconsciously clutching Sai's hand and burying his nose against the watchers neck. Dark, serious eyes looked down at the fidgety blonde.

"Naruto. Hurry and get it over with. You said you knew how to do it so, do it" Naruto swallowed. Sai always managed to get Naruto fired up for a fight. This time, he had managed to get the blonde to find his nerve and actually focus. Naruto took control of himself and told his hand what it had to do.

"Ah!" Gaara's hips lifted slightly when Naruto touched him like that. A strange feeling, almost ticklish, pulsed each time that hand moved up and down. He could hear voices but couldn't make out the words. Breathing was feeling heavier and everything felt warmer. It was like he could feel everything but forgot what he actually feeling. The soles if his feet were building up friction burn but he couldn't feel how hard he was squeezing Sai's hand.

"G….guys. I think….it's nearly out!" Coils of heat wrapped themselves around the gasping red head. Toes curled and leg muscled felt tight. "Naruto…..Sai…..". Pop. That's what it felt like. Gaara had felt it swelling inside him, knowing it was coming yet, it was so unexpected. Lungs inhaled almost endlessly which the back arched in the neat crescent. Gaara felt like he was coming down from one cloud on to another. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread over his cheeks. Half lidded eyes wandered aimlessly along the tent rooftop, slowly drifting into a darker place. The voices were back again but, once more, they couldn't be heard.

"Ewwww. Sticky again"

"What is that stuff, Naruto?" Naruto wiped his hand against the sleeping bag, sticking his tongue out and looking away as he did.

"The milk. I think. This happened to me too. I didn't fall asleep this quick though" The briefs were gently pulled back up. Naruto and Sai were just about to put Gaara back into his sleeping bag. "At least he's all better now. We don't have to worry anymore" just as Sai started to shift, he felt as something stung him.

"Ow!" When he looked down the where the pain came from, a look of worry took over his once serious face. "Naruto. We need to see Dr. Hatake about this"


	7. Perceptions Pt1

-1Whoooo. Finally. This chapter is done. First of all, a LOT of credit goes to my best mate for helping me out with this chapter. There was just so much detail to sort through and the number of times I changed scenarios was maddening. I have a bit of an OCD where I need to rough draft anything before I type it out. I must have wrote the first part of this chapter three times before I was comfortable with how I was portraying everything. I think this chapter felt so difficult because I'm using it as a sort of awareness chapter. There's so much sensitive detail that affects the rest of the story and I really wanted to get it just right. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next instalment. Have fun ^__^

* * *

**HOW ORPHAN BOYS PLAY**

**CH7**

**PERCEPTIONS**

Why do places where adults work always smell so weird? The dentist smells weird, the library smells weirder and the Doctor's smells really weird. Gaara could never really put his finger on it but the only way he could describe it was a strange cross between the odour that follows old people and something that must be kept in a jar and opened by old people to try and cover their own reek. (late night detective novels would give anyone an odd imagination) Little pink nostrils crinkled while thin, nibbled lips were sucked in tight to keep that stench out. Gaara was a mannered child but those morals were going to be thrown out the window if he couldn't cover his face soon. He told himself to bare it a little longer because, this had to be done. It had been two days since that night at camp, of which Sai had commented must have been the best sleep Gaara had ever had; the red head had slept for a full six hours! Although the reason behind that good sleep was what had the boys worried. Even though the worry was visually dead when looking at Sai, it was his idea to visit Dr. Hatake. Gaara might have been able to forget about the whole thing but, every time Lee or Big Gai would ask him how he was at breakfast, it all came back in flash. He desperately wanted to ask them about it and find out what was wrong but something in his gut just said, no. Now that he was sitting here, in the waiting room of the clinic, it was getting more and more difficult to ignore the flash. Had they really caught something that night? Were they spreading it just by being near people? Would it happen again? Could they stop it if it did? Little Gaara's panic induced thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the feeling of something rough moving along his hand. He looked down to see two black dots and a dark crescent looking back up. Gaara turned his head to Sai just as the marker lid clicked into place.

"Sorry." Gaara spoke softly. "Is it that obvious I'm worried?" To the red head's surprise, the dark scribbler shook his head and leaned back. Gaara tried not to laugh when he saw how anxiousness was leaving Naruto with bloody finger nails. Gaara leaned back and returned the smile in the more traditional manner. "Thanks for cheering me up, Sai"

XXXX

Ever since the boys were little, Dr. Hatake had treated them for every cold, rash, broken bone and anything else the boys could throw at him. The medicine man had treated everyone in the orphanage at some point. It was like having two separate clinics to operate and keep in supply of medicine and first aid. But the Doctor loved his job most of the time and had grown into a bit of a workaholic over the years too. Kurenai was especially grateful for his years of service to all her kids. Especially, as it wasn't his main duty. The kind gentleman always went out of his way whenever Kurenai called the clinic. Needless to say, it was extremely helpful; having to explain nearly three dozen different medical histories to a different Doctor every visit would have been an endless nuisance.

The Doctor walked into a surprisingly busy day at the clinic. Odd, it's not this crowded until flu season. A few minutes later, he found the culprits. The wide, opaque walls had been plastered with hey fever posters, surrounding an annoying number of rows of sneezing, puffy eyed patients. He sighed. The only thing that annoyed him more than the flu was hey fever. At least with winter time there were people who actually needed shots to survive the cold but most of these people could be sorted with something over a pharmacy counter. He sighed once more, silently saying goodbye to the hope of finishing early and enjoying the lovely summer day.

XXXX

The long electronic board above the reception desk beeped for the fourth time since the boys been told to sit and wait. The red dots on the black, rectangular screen spelled out another name, a room number and the woman with the scary looking neck pointed out the direction. Gaara wasn't sure how long he could keep up the resistance of that smell. Boredom he could take but that stench was making his stomach churn to butter. _Urrrggghh…..don't think of butter_. Right now, dipping his nose into Big Gai's extra strength cologne bottle had more appeal to it and stuff was real nasty. If Gaara had known long they were going to be waiting for, he would have brought something to read. So, for the fifth time, he counted the ceiling tiles.

Across the waiting room, a head of spiky, white hair peeked out of it's office door, hoping to see less patients than there had been this morning. The door had barely opened when that creepy receptionist popped out of nowhere with an arm full of folders and paper work.

"Sakumo Hatake," she growled through sharp teeth. "You're not the only one who is busy today" The poor man was close to whimpering under that icy, steel stare. This, from a man who once had to wrestle a dirty needle from a paranoid patient, took the sharp end in the arm and managed to come out O.K. Sakumo looked around frantically for an excuse to make her go away. To his astonishing luck, he found three. With barely a second thought , he brushed past his greatest fear and strode as quick as possible to salvation.

"Good morning, Boys" Despite the man's attempt to be bright and lively, he was born with a shy toned voice and could never seem to reach a volume higher than two. The older man had to tap Naruto's head to get any attention and it was like pushing the button that opened the gates to Hyper-Ville. Life suddenly sprung into the spunky blonde when he leapt to his feet in an instant.

"Is it out turn yet? Finally! Come on! Let's go!" Sakumo stumbled back with his hands up in front of his chest. He knew nothing would harm him but previous experienced with these boys had left him with a heightened reflex.

"Whoa! Calm down, Son. What's the hurry?" The kid was practically hopping on the spot like a mad, blonde rabbit.

"There's something wrong with-hmmphffah!" Now that was impressive. For such a quite boy, Sai could move pretty quick. Naruto continued to muffle against the pale hand covering his mouth. Sai didn't say a word. Instead, he pressed his white fingers against his own lips, reached into his pocket for his pen and fiercely drew a large X over Naruto's loud mouth. As he capped the lid back on, Sai gave a firm whack with pen across the idiot's head. Gaara leaned against his wrist lazily.

"Couldn't have said it better myself" Well, nothing much had changed about these three. Sakumo could probably sit here all day and watch this until his lungs burst but there was a growing number of onlookers, including the scary one he'd tried to escape earlier.

"Well, come on then. Let's find out what's got you high as a kite this time" Sakumo lead the boys into his examination room, smiling quietly while Naruto tried to wipe the permanent ink from his face. The older man was looking forward to a little break. It was probably something silly that had managed to get Naruto worked up and he's somehow managed to convince Sai and Gaara that it was serious. Or maybe Gaara was worried he was never going to get any taller and Naruto was just putting on an act to spare his friend the embarrassment? (Although, it did often concern Sakumo that the kid did have an extreme lack of facial hair; a few inches were nothing but no eyebrows was a little strange) Hopefully, it was something as simple as Sai swallowing another pen cap. Oh well. The boys didn't bother to even look for somewhere to sit while the Doctor took the chance to recline in his own and finally rest his back. A thought of realisation popped into the Doctor's head; if the boys were here on an appointment, then why hadn't he heard from Kurenai?

"So," he coughed. "How is….Kurenai-San doing? Is she keeping well?" He kept his eyes averted the whole time he spoke. Naruto ignored the fidgety adult and resumed waving his arms in the air like a mad bird.

"This is no time for your lovey-dovey crush on Kurenai! This is serious!" If it was physically possible, Dr. Hatake's hair stood on end even more. He was never very good at keeping things subtle and could already feel the blush creeping up.

"I….I don't have a clue what-"

"Listen already! There's something wrong with our ochinchin's!!" It was like those words snapped straight through Sakumo's chair legs. He barely even registered that he had fallen when he stumbled back to his feet. His mouth hung low as he stared at them and his elbows struggled to support his weight against the desk.

"Ex…excuse me?"

XXXX

The head nurse was growing impatient. She had prescriptions needing signed off, two patients waiting to be discharged and the medicine supply room needed rotation analysis. All of which, couldn't be done without the approval of her supervisor, Dr. Hatake. She tried to keep it together though because, this was the first time she could recall that the Doctor had taken his time to report back to her. When his exam room door finally opened, three young boys were being pushed out like a trio of misbehaving puppies and a very flustered man wobbled by the door frame.

"Dr. Hatake! Are you alright?" She was going to say he looked very pale but his complexion always looked like that. But now, he looked closer to ghostly. The man's eyes never left the floor, no longer the half lidded, bedroom eyes the nurse had grown accustomed to over the years but, wide shaking orbs that made him looked a little frightening. "Dr. Hatake?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine" the words shot out like bullets. "I just have to lie down for a while. I forgot breakfast this morning and I'm feeling light headed" No sooner has the words left the Doctor, his door slammed shut. The nurse and the boys exchanged glances, all of them speechless for a moment. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"So….when he said to wait outside, did he mean here or can we go back outside? I'm bored."

Sakumo slowly slid to the floor, his back pressed heavily against the solid door behind him. What those boys just told him was….was so…..indecent. It was embarrassing enough that they thought an erection was some sort of disease but to hear how they tried to deal with it! Sakumo had panicked. What was he supposed to say? _It's O.K, boys. You just reached puberty and you pretty much had a homosexual experience at the same time even though you have no idea what any of that means. _That, was pretty much the gist of the situation but it was all very serious. If he didn't tell the boys what had happened between them, they could end up doing something really inappropriate in a very public place. How the hell was Sakumo supposed to explain it though? The boys came to him out of confidence but the Doctor was finding himself lost for any. For all his medical experience and achievement, the doctor would always become painfully embarrassed when it came to gynaecology or any kind of genital examination and diagnosis. Back in medical school, his inability to sit through an entire lecture on the subject nearly cost him his qualifications. If it weren't for his escalations in paediatrics, he would have surely failed. What to do? What to do? What to do?

XXXX

And then there was one. One little red head, slumped in an itchy chair and bored again. Gaara had offered to stay behind until Dr. Hatake would talk to them again and he was quickly regretting the decision. But he had seen how much Naruto wanted to go outside and spend the rest of day catching frogs before it got dark and even though Sai would keep quiet about it, Gaara could tell how much his silent friend wanted to go out to that green house he was fond of. The flowers drawn on Sai's knees were a bit of a giveaway. Gaara gave them both a nudge to the arm to let his friends know it was ok and that he would stay here. Gaara had no where else he really had to be. Big Gai was helping Lee train for an upcoming race and Gaara said he'd be back in time for dinner. At the time, when he was being so considerate to his friends, Gaara forgot he had nothing to keep himself occupied.

Each minute that went by left fewer and fewer people in the waiting room. The clock on the wall ticked away until it was the only thing keeping Gaara entertained. He thought about closing his eyes and picturing his favourite chapter in his head to take his mind off other things. However, he was having trouble visualising with that sickening stench still hovering around. When he opened his eyes again, there was little to no people in the room apart from someone who must have sat next to him when he wasn't looking. For a moment, Gaara blinked in confusion. The man next to him had white, spiky hair that nearly stood on end in thick chunks and a very familiar pair of baggy eyes. Well, he could only see one eye but it still looked closely similar. The man definitely looked like who Gaara thought it was except, for a weird blue mask that covered the man's face from his nose to his neck. The Doctor's long, white coat was gone too and had been replaced with an oversized, dark T-shirt. The attention that was focused on figuring out whether this was Dr. Hatake or not had started to slide towards the alluring hard back of paper pages. Gaara strained his neck to see past the bright orange covers. He hadn't even checked the title or bothered to notice the red warning label. All Gaara could see was chance to read something that wasn't a gossip magazine. The red head managed to lean over just enough and hoped it didn't look obvious.

_Her voluptuous breasts swayed beneath me as I moved inside her. I watched with endless desire as she curled and twisted with pleasure. Over and over she begged me to move faster but I enjoy hearing her voice calling to me. Occasionally I'll slam my cock against her to raise her hopes and return to the slow pace that keeps her craving for me. I feel my own end reaching near though and if it going to end soon then, it will end my way. I flipped her body while I'm still inside her. That perfect ass high in the air and ready for-_

"You know what you're reading right?" Gaara jolted back into his chair like someone slamming the final jigsaw piece into place. "Yes, I am talking to you. You can stop pretending to be the wall now" The kid's face was starting to mimic the colour of his hair. Whether from reading or being caught, the older man wasn't entirely sure.

"S…sorry Dr. Hatake," he squeaked.

"Wrong Hatake, Kido" That, hadn't quite got the message through. The kid just stared at him with a dumb look that the older man had begrudgingly grown accustomed to. Will the day ever come when people would stop mistaking him for that old man? That's what the damn mask was for and he still didn't look distinguished enough. The man sighed and let the book dangle as if he just admitted defeat. He held out his free hand toward the kid; "**Kakashi, **Hatake, kid".

"Um…hi. I'm Gaara"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to read over people's shoulders?" Gaara tucked his hands by his sides and slouched back into the chair.

"I was bored," Gaara muttered, "and I forgot my favourite book" Kakashi suddenly made a loud hiss like he's sat on something sharp.

"Now that, I can sympathise with. There aren't many places I'd go without a good read in my pocket" Kakashi closed his book and turned to face the kid, suddenly remembering his manners to look at someone when you're talking to them. "So, what you here for? Get in fight?" (Not all manners were remembered well)

"Huh?" The older man pointed towards his good eye and Gaara got the hint. Lots of people used to think the red head was always taking hits to the eyes because they were so dark. " Oh! No. They always look like this. I don't sleep very well. Did you get in a fight?" Gaara copied the earlier gesture. Kakashi's fingertips felt the outline of the scar that had left him half blind, reaching all the way from the left side of his forehead, across his closed eye lid and half way down his cheek.

"This old thing? Nah, just a bad accident from when I was your age" Kakashi's wrist watch beeped, signalling the arrival of the eighteenth hour of the day. "That old man is sure taking his sweet time"

"You mean the real Dr. Hatake?" Gaara asked. "He saw me and my friends a while ago but asked us to wait outside when we told him what happened"

"What happened?" Gaara quickly covered his mouth. Whoops. Although, he wasn't too sure why he should be covering his mouth in the first place. But then, Dr. Hatake had practically thrown them out of his room.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you" The masked man just waved that sentence away.

"Kid, there's little I haven't seen a fewer things I haven't done" Kakashi sat patiently as the kid looked like he was having an inner debate, chewing his index finger as he did.

"Can I whisper it to you?" The adult nodded, sensing the kid's embarrassment. Must be something serious. Maybe he was lying about the whole black eye thing and someone was really hitting him. Hell, the kid was pretty thin and it didn't look like much couldn't knock him down. Gaara kneeled on the seat of his chair, ignoring the slight burn the material left on his bare knees. He leaned over to Kakashi's ear, covering his own mouth with his hands and whispered what he and his friends had told Dr. Hatake.

Back in the exam room, an overly worried Doctor's internal clock was reminding him that he had left three curious boys outside his door, waiting for an answer. Sakumo hadn't even moved from the floor, frightful that if he dared moved away from the door then the boys would storm their way back in. He had to tell them something though. Maybe he could- "Ow!" Any ideas the Doctor did have had been thumped out of his head by the door being shoved open. He looked up and scowled at the least helpful person that could arrive at a moment like this.

"You're fault for sitting there, Dad" Sakumo could see his Son's smug grin even beneath that ridiculous mask. "Just thought I'd let you know that I'm taking a patient off your hands. Honestly though, how you ever managed to reproduce me is a mystery. See you later, Old Man" Wait, What? By the time Sakumo got up and out his room, his Son was gone. He looked around and found the waiting room empty. Where had the boys gone? Just then, the horrific realisation of his Son's words came to him but, the doctor wasn't going anywhere soon. Especially with two, very angry, female staff members heading straight for him. Along with, a group of annoyed Doctors who just had to tend to all his patients for the last hour. Sakumo could only pray that his moronic Son didn't get himself into trouble again.

XXXX

Gaara had never been to this part of Konoha before. The empty streets reminded the young boy of an old ghost town he had read about once; small houses scattered around the dusty streets like lonely mice. Most of them were boarded up with old, decaying sheets of wood to cover up the broken windows and missing doors. Patches of green that might have been gardens were now miniature jungles that bordered the old footpaths. Gaara picked out the fifth stone from his sandal. This place is creepy, Gaara thought to himself. The growingly dark sky and thick grey clouds were keeping the red head on edge. The phrase 'Stranger Danger' was whispering in his ear like it was the sound the wind usually carried. This guy isn't a stranger, Gaara confirmed with his inner self. They had both introduced themselves, they shared a common interest and the older man was, apparently Dr. Hatake's son. ( Gaara was kicking himself for not figuring that out sooner) It a was ok to walk with around with this guy right? It's not a stranger if someone you know, knows them right? Either way, Gaara wasn't sure how this was going to help. There were never any books that Gaara could recall being in the library about this sort of stuff he had told Kakashi about. However, the white haired man had reassured the red head that he has exactly what the boy was looking for.

Gaara started rubbing his arms to keep warm from the cold breeze blowing over him. This place felt like a bad, back alley with a crazy shadow cat waiting at the end.

For a brief moment, Kakashi thought he'd managed to walk ahead of Gaara and the kid had gotten himself lost in this old place. Thankfully, he was just a few steps away but, those few feet of distance had somehow managed to make the kid look so much smaller the he already was. The red headed speck was practically shivering and the breeze wasn't even that cold. Although, if Kakashi were that small and pale, this old place would make him shake too. The older man waited until Gaara had caught up. It wasn't difficult to miss the shifting pair of eyes.

"Don't this old place bother you, kiddo" Gaara looked up to see that half masked face gazing back down the street. "Everything used to be brighter and busier like the rest of Konoha. I used to hang out here all the time when I was your age" The nostalgic tone made Kakashi seem so much older. Like, he was looking back on something that died a long time ago but could still see it as if it were right in front of him.

"What happened?" The breeze picked up into a gust, carrying decayed, brown leaves through the cold whistle.

"Just the way things go sometimes. One person moves, their house become empty and when no-one fills it up again, it turns into one of those" He pointed to one the old shells that might have been a home in its prime. "It's like a disease. Pretty soon it spread to more houses when more people decided to live in the busier parts of Konoha. Those who stayed, eventually left because of how run-down and neglected this place had become. This, is all that's left of where I grew up" Kakashi blinked out of his little flashback, not remembering half of what he had said and smiled down at Gaara. "Maybe one day I'll find a cure" Before the smaller one could return the smile, there was sudden BANG made by an old, swing gate. It wasn't bad enough to cause an episode but it did make the kid freeze over very noticeably. "Whoa! You okay?" The index finger was roughly bitten into but not enough to bleed. Gaara kept his eyes to the ground between his in-turned feet.

"This…place we're going to, there aren't any loud noises are there?"

It wasn't long before the pair reached a small building on a quiet street corner. The box was idol, surrounded by vacant space, uncut grass and street lamps warming up to keep the sidewalks in dim light once the dark took over. Apart, from the path that curved from one end of the shop to the other. It seemed to be the only piece of road that looked clean around here. The outside walls gleamed brightly with glowing white, reaching up to carefully painted letters, coloured in shiny silver.

"White Fang Books?" There was a light chuckle from the taller figure.

"Yeah. An odd nickname. It seemed like a good idea at the time and still think it's a good name" The ebony door opened with a melodic chime, like a little angel welcoming a new visitor until a crash came thundering down. Shelves of books cascaded from above the door, along with whoever had been carrying them. The onset of familiar symptoms swirled in Gaara's stomach; his head rattled with noise as if it was trying to burst from him skull, everything tasted dry and the only thought he could hear was, 'Run! Too loud! Too loud'. Almost as soon as the fear has taken a bite, it let go again. Gaara could feel his head becoming lighter and quieter. He hadn't realised his eyes were shut. When they opened, Gaara was amazed to see he had not moved an inch from the door way. He hadn't curled up, or screamed or broke anything? Despite the nausea churning, something inside felt……a little better.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow! Ow! OW!" Gaara felt a trickle of hot liquid slip between his shaky fingers. He retracted them quickly when he saw the blood leaking from Kakashi's arm.

_Oh-no. oh-no! This is bad. Really bad. I hurt someone again. I'm gonna get-_

A large hand nestled in Gaara's coarse hair.

"Hey, you okay? I thought you were going to faint on me for a moment there"

"Hey, Mask Freak!" A voice yelled out from the pile of books on the floor. " Would it be a real nuisance to help me out of here?

XXXX

Gaara sipped from his glass of water while perched on the high stool. The cool liquid almost tasted sweet as it quenched his dry throat and mouth. For a while now he'd just been sitting there, watching quietly while two grown men argued a lot like Naruto and Sai. The other man had even tried to throw a punch but Kakashi just held out his hand against the other guy's head, leaving arms to flail madly with no hope of hitting the enemy. Gaara took another sip. The red head wasn't sure what he had expected to see in this little shop but, this would not have been at the top of his guess list. Everything larger than him was covered with massive white sheets, some flaked with dust. The floor was cluttered with old bits blue and white paper and the walls revealed their bare plaster. There were dogs too. Eight of them. Each one had some sort of individual feature within their little pack from patchy fur to spiky tails. While most of them had grouped together for a nap in the corner, the largest and smallest had taken an interest in their new guest. Gaara was growing fond of them too. The really big one looked it could eat twenty of the tiny dog that sat on its head but purred like a kitten when his ears were scratched.

"Jeez, you pick fine times to advertise this place don't you? Never during the tourist season. Never when the holidays come around. No. You pick the week we decide to remodel the frickin' shop when all the books are packed up and stored away!!" The guy with the dark hair and goggles was fuming with annoyance. Gaara could see his point though. Everything was hidden away in a sea of white sheets. Well, everything except a picture on the low shelf behind the red head. There was a woman in the frame, standing in between Kakashi and the black haired guy. She had short, chocolate brown hair and warm, brown eyes to match. Her smile reminded Gaara of Kurenai. There was a small vase next to the frame, with a wilting white flower, clinging for life inside. "Ah! Forget this. Hey, kid!" Gaara looked back from the picture to the adult calling him. "Sorry about this idiot." He gestured his thumb at Kakashi. "He's a lost cause when it comes to business. I'm Obito by the way but, I can't stop and chat. Hope to see you later though" The blacked haired guy, Obito, lightly pushed Kakashi out of his way and headed towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked dully.

"Taking the dogs out. I need a break from all the work _I've been doing" _ The bell chimed, the dogs bolted and Obito was chasing after them with a handful of dog leashes.

"Do you two not like each other?" Gaara asked, finishing off his water.

"Hmm? Oh, no, we've been friends since school. Don't take any of that seriously. He's just mad at me for eating his pudding" Gaara felt like he'd been part of a very similar story once or twice before. "Now, I have just the thing you're looking for" Gaara watched as Kakashi upset the creaseless sheets and rummaged through the drawers of the desk underneath. Pieces of paper and bits of stationary fell to the floor, unnoticed by the messy and careless individual. "Oh, hold on a minute." Kakashi crawled over a few chairs to reach over to the picture frame and faced it towards the wall. "Feels like she's watching me" Kakashi whispered and went back to the rummaging. "Here it is" The white haired man plucked out a dark green hardback. From where Gaara was standing, he could see a red symbol across the back like the ones used for no smoking signs. Before handing the book over, Kakashi looked around to make sure all was clear. He crouched low and covered the side of his face to whisper. "If Rin asks, tell her I gave you 'Tom Sawyer' or something as an apology for being a pain" Before Gaara could get a glimpse of the title, his wrist watch bleeped. 7PM!! Late for dinner! With barely a second thought, Gaara grabbed the book, yelled back a thank you and rushed for home.

* * *

Originally, there was another chunk to this chapter but I felt that I had somehow included so much in this one that I should split it into two. As you can see, I named this chapter, 'Perceptions' because, I feel there are so many hidden borders and misconceptions when it comes to how we all see things. For example, if we didn't know Kakashi and we saw him taking a small boy out of the doctor's clinic, wouldn't you see that as something a bit fishy? I remember reading a short article in high school about paranoid parents; a teacher saw one of her pupil's legs were covered in blue patches. She immediately reported abuse and it turns out, the blue marks were just pen ink that had washed off from the inside if the kid's wellies where his name was written in pen. For me, it was a bit of an eye opener. We've all seen how most parents are scared to let their kids out of their sight and the majority of us wouldn't blame them either. I'm in the same boat and I hate it. But no wonder, all we see in the papers or in the news are stories about people being kidnapped, mugged, raped, tortured, beaten and abused. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm just sad that I feel paranoid every time I step out the door. I think that's what this chapter is inspired by and I hope I can embrace the concept to it's fullest. Incidentally, as a research material, how were you all taught about sex education and how did you take it?


	8. Perceptions Pt2

**How Orphan Boys Play**

**Perception Part 2**

There are a few things that a certain green athlete is weak against; a pretty face, a challenge, and an adorable little Brother. Just before summer break, Lee had begun training for the Annual Konoha High Race. The event wasn't until the end of the next school year but when Lee heard they lowered the age acceptance rate, he couldn't think of a reason not to start training now. Being able to enter early wasn't the only motivation for Rock Lee, he also had someone he needed to impress someone. He just couldn't wait. The competition alone was an adrenaline boost because Itachi Uchiha was making a return to the circuit. The Uchiha was practically famous; an early graduate after being skipped ahead nearly five years and, even more impressive, the winner of the Annual Race four years in a row. It must have been humiliating for the other competitors to lose against someone nearly ten years younger and two feet shorter. Lee's determination was about to break through the ceiling and there was something even more precious to him that was driving his spirit further to win; the chance to make his baby Brother proud.

Today gave Lee a small glimmer of that ray of hope because, his little Brother asked to train with him. There were tears, prayers of thanks to heavenly Gods, epic hugs that may or may not have cracked a rib and more tears. Good thing Gaara has asked early in the morning. This morning started with the proper routine: up at five-thirty, wake up stretch, shower, dried, teeth brushed, neatly comb hair and prepare clean sports gear. Only one, small change; Lee was making breakfast for two today. Gaara was already up when Lee hopped into the living room. Tucked away in his little spot under the window against the end of the couch arm, with his little green book nearly presses against his little nose. The family colour must be catching on. By six-thirty, they were fed, outside in the fresh, open air and the two Brothers were on their way to race their hearts out.

TWO HOURS LATER-

"You.....are a.......FREAK!" This wasn't the 'proud little Brother, looking up to the older Brother' image lee had imagined. Instead, his little Brother was half collapsed on the practice track, looking up at the Big Brother and gasping like a fish.

"I'm sorry", Lee whimpered, sweeping his index finger into the track grit. "I thought you could keep up" Gaara looked up. The little red head felt dizzy but didn't have to look far to see his older Brother crouched to the ground, hugging his knees and looking over the exhausted pile on bones below.

"You're not going to cry, are you?" Gaara groaned. Lee was always over dramatic but when he cried, it was painful to watch. "Look, it's fine. I was caught off guard, that's all. " In an attempt to keep lee from weeping, Gaara rolled on his belly and pushed up on his elbows. THUMP. Not much luck. That mad sprint took more out of him that he thought. "Little help here, Lee?"

"What happened here?" Gaara strained his neck over his shoulder to see another green giant looking over him. At least this one wasn't whimpering like a drama Queen. Gaara pointed a heavy finger toward Lee.

"I demand you check this freak for steroids!" It took all of Big Gai's effort not to laugh his bowl cut off. He really did have an odd pair of kids. While one could eat curry until his stomach exploded, the other could recite a classic novel off the top of his head. It looked like Gai had found himself in the middle of another attempt by his boys to try and find something in common. Last week, Lee somehow came up with the idea of speed reading and ended up with a handful of paper cuts. Oh well, looks like it was up to Big Gai to save the day, again. He was really growing fond of the nickname. The proud pose took over; arms folded, one majestic hand tucked under the firm jaw and the look of suave confidence that only the most masculine of men can master. "I was just thinking,", he said to the young pair, "it's such a splendid day and you two look like you could do with a treat. Who's up for ice cream?" Both boys looked up with a sparkle in their eyes.

"But, it's not even past nine o'clock yet" Lee suddenly had his nose poked quite sharply.

"Don't give him a reason to change his mind," Gaara warned. "I'll take that ice-cream" For a moment, Gaara forgot why he was on the ground and managed to fall flat on his face when he tried to get up. Lee could have cried. He really did have a soft spot for his little Brother. When those adorable, smudged eyes looked up so pleadingly, the older Brother instinct kicked into over drive and hoisted the little Brother up into a piggy-back. Yeah, Big Gai definitely had an odd pair for kids but he couldn't be prouder.

The air was hot, even for this time of the morning. The sun scorched over the ground below as a cloudless sky failed to provide any cover from the waves of heat but, it was the perfect excuse to have a cold scoop of sweet summer cream. The local café was quiet except for a few early birds catching coffee-to-go before work. It always creeps Lee out to see this place so quiet when it's normally jumping with students queuing up for fries, sandwiches and turning four-person tables into twenty-four. The young waitress at the counter smiled at the familiar faces and kindly asked what they would be having today.

" Chocolate for me, mint for Lee and...." Gai stopped and realised he had no idea what flavour Gaara liked. It was new chance to strengthen family bonds. "Gaara, what do you like?" The little red head took a moment to think, he wasn't even looking into the glass counter for some reason.

"I want to try a swirly seamen" A moment of silence went by. Gaara could only stare as the waitress blushed, Big Gai went wide eyed and Lee nearly dropped him from laughing so hard.

XXXXX

"I appreciate the help, Iruka. Sorry if I woke you up when I called" Yamato stopped for second to catch his grip.

"No problem. I teach a lot of morning classes so I'm, more than often, up at his time anyway." Iruka jerked his head in the direction behind him, "This one, I can't vouch for" The two adults looked back to see a blonde haired zombie being led by Sai to make sure he didn't walk into a fence. Again. Iruka had gotten a call in the middle of breakfast and was surprised to hear Yamato on the other end. A stranger surprise was being asked to help carry a giant potted plant. They agreed to meet in half an hour which, Yamato found a bit odd considering they literally live five minutes away from each other but, the plant was unaware of the time and effort it takes to drag Naruto out of bed. It took ten minutes to just to wrestle the blanket away and they, eventually, managed to get through the ridiculous ordeal of getting dressed. They were able to meet up with Yamato and Sai within the hour. "So how far is this place we're going to anyway?" Asked Iruka as he brushed off a giant leaf from his face for the fifth time. In an oddly boisterous voice, Yamato replied, " Just a few houses down from Cherry Blossom street" No wonder the plant man was being so cheerful all of a sudden.

"Isn't that nearly a two hour walk from here?" Iruka gave his friend a very sceptical look. His dark eye brow twitched as the fiendish eyes glared at the sheepish smile hiding behind the thick stems. Luckily, Iruka was a bit of a soft touch. So, while he wouldn't tell Yamato off verbally, he wasn't going to look happy either. It was the teacher's way of invoking guilt and it strangely worked most of the time. "Fine. But before continue this little trip you've planned for us, stop by that fountain so I can drink first" Konoha was filled with small water fountains, ready to spout their cold, refreshing liquid at the push of a button. While Iruka stocked up on hydration, Yamato stretched out a cramped muscle cause by carrying the plant in an odd posture.

"Naruto, wake up already. Listen, I'm having trouble getting the white stuff out. I keep scratching and pulling at it but it can't get all of it off" Both adults froze, one had water flowing out of his mouth while the other was half way through touching his toes. Neither of them noticed how ridiculous they looked. The heard a long yawn behind them.

"Maybe you've got to be gentler," came Naruto's tired voice. "What if I blow on it? Think that would work?"

"NO!" The boys nearly jumped out of their skin and hurriedly clung to each other for protection. "Naruto, where did you pick up such filth!" Iruka pointed a shaking finger, trying to keep an authoritative composure and was failing miserably.

"You too, Sai. Spill it" Yamato was wobbling in the same boat. His voice seemed in control but his eyes were screaming. Both boys slowly untied an arm from each other while keeping the other wrapped tightly around the other's shoulders and pointed to one another.

"I...have dan....druff," Sai said in a rare, nervous tone. Naruto was pretty close to the same pitch.

"I thought pulling it was making it worse. Why are you two freaking out?" If there was ever an ability to disappear into a puff of smoke, now would be the perfect to have it. No-one moved. No-one dared to blink. If something didn't break the tension soon, they'd stay like this all day.

"But I don't get it. What did I say? Leeeee! Quit laughing already" Oh, thank god.

Three noise makers popped out from a short alley way; one was grumbling to himself, the other was struggling to walk while laughing and the smallest was whining at the first two. The only thing that made them stop was Gaara seeing his two friends wrapped around each other. The red head gave a small wave and pondered which situation seemed stranger, his or theirs. "Um...hi, Naruto. Hi, Sai. Since when did you two get cuddly?" The attached pair creaked their heads, almost audibly, toward each other until their noses touched. Suddenly, they bounced apart like a pair of released springs. Gaara smiled to himself as he watched Sai stiffen from head to toe and Naruto hop on his toes like a fox on a hot tin roof. Gaara just giggled. "So what are you two doing besides getting lovey-dovey?" Naruto shook an angry fist and flicked an annoyed finger at Gaara's nose.

"We weren't getting 'lovey-dovey'," he groaned, "Don't be gross."

"We were getting in trouble, " Sai, chirped in. "I think"

Gaara's mouth made a small 'O'. "You too?" Before Gaara could say any more, a giant hand clamped over his mouth. He flailed his arms, thinking for a moment he was being kidnapped

"Not. Another. Word. Lee! You're not helping the situation!" A bright red face, streaming with laughter tears came stumbling by. Lee slapped his hand against his Uncle's back and finally started to breadth again.

"Oh come on, Oji-Gai. Can you blame? Swirly semen ice-cream!" Another onslaught of laughing fits continued to consume Lee.

"I told you it wasn't a flavour, Naruto", said Sai. Yamato cringed inwardly. He suddenly felt nauseous and he could faintly taste his breakfast. "That means we probably got the wheel barrow thing wrong too" Now Sai had a hand clamped over his mouth. Iruka braced himself for what ever Naruto was about to blurt out with. So far, so clear. The three adults quickly huddled together after warning their kids not to say another word. They were worrying like frightened hens, plucking for a solution and, instead, scratching up more problems. They were lost for words. They should be discussing and investigating but their eyes wouldn't lift from the view of their feet. Suddenly, a smaller bowl-cut somehow popped up in the middle of the adult-panic-circle, causing the three older men to tense. A boulder could crash through and none of them would budge. However, something did make them flinch. A look on Rock Lee's face, similar to that of a feral cat before pouncing on it's prey, had them all quivering. Gai had no idea his beloved Nephew could make a smirk like that. Lee arched his back, hands clasped behind him and looking up with a wicked grin

"You think they're bumping uglies don't you?" The trio gasped simultaneously. Iruka could feel his head begin to flutter. Gai felt he should scold his Nephew but the shock was too overwhelming. The smug, green teen rolled back and forth on his heels, enjoying this little moment that he knew too well he could have _so_ much fun with. "Well then," Lee declared by brushing past the adults weak wall. "We'll just have to find out won't we?" Something went click inside the parents heads and they all spun around to stop Lee from what ever that green devil had planned. However, in doing so, their heads slammed together like pendulum balls. Their feet tangled into knots and they crashed into a heap, unnoticed. The older Brother put on his best smile, crouched a little to put his hands on his knees and became eye level the younger three. "Have you three been having sex?" Three pairs of eyes widened slightly, which Lee found to a bit funny considering the striking differences between them. Naruto raised his hand.

"That's what you do to make babies, right?" Lee raised a thumb and made a BING-BONG noise like some sort of game show. The teen repeated the question since he didn't actually get an answer. The blank reply was what Lee had pretty much expected. Now, anyone else would have let the subject die right there and then and relieved the worrying parents of their anxiety. If the boys didn't even have a concept of sex, then nothing bad could have possibly happened. But, since when is Rock Lee that nice? He let that earlier look glance over his shoulder to the three adults still scrambling. There was going to be no mercy from the mean, green devil any time soon.

"Well then," Lee continued, "_that_ means you won't know much about _hand jobs_ either, right?" Three young heads shook. "Oral?" They shook again. "What about sixty-nines?" Gaara suddenly beamed and waved his hand in the air.

"I know!" The red head exclaimed. "It's like a ninety-nine ice cream cone but cheaper" Lee's face contorted in so many ways just to hold in the laugh. Too cute, Lee thought to himself and, at some point, he would have to find out why Gaara associated ice-cream with something he wasn't sure about. The teen patted that head of red and smiled

"Oh, I'm afraid you're way off, Gaara. You see, when two people who-Humphhh!" Just as Lee was about to sandwich his hands together in a very provocative position, he was hauled into the air by a big, green and very angry giant.

"Lee," came a beastly growl. "Either keep a hold of your tongue or I'll sell it to the Nara's for medical research" Two loud and long groans came from lower down and Yamato was all too grateful for having the quieter (and hopefully less curious) child. Naruto, of course, was the loudest.

"Awwww, no fair! Bushy Brows was about to tell us what all those words meant" Iruka wasn't sure why he was going to ask what he about to but knew he was going to kick himself later for it.

"Naruto, just how many of these _words_ do you know?" Naruto tucked his hands into his dungaree pockets.

"Well, they're more like names," said the innocent faced blonde boy. " Like, who's this Ben Dover guy and his friend, Master Bates?" There was a short pause. Not even a whisp of wind to indicate time was still moving. Then, there was a sudden thud made by an adult falling to the ground.

"Iruka!" Even though Yamato and Gai looked genuinely worried that Iruka had just fainted yet, they were silently grateful towards the younger adult. Their only was they wish was fir it to have happened sooner.

Xxxx

"Iruka! Snap out of it already", came a brash voice from above. The bronze man tried to block out the voice calling out to him by focusing on anything else. Like, where is all this green coming from? The only thing untouched by the colour, that Gai never seemed to grow bored of was of, was the ceiling.

"NO!" The young teacher yelled from his place on the couch. "It didn't happen"

"Iruka," said a calmer voice. How is Yamato managing to keep so calm about all this? "Your boy thinks 'masturbate' is a person" While Iruka buried his face into his hands at the horrible reminder. Yamato continued to speak. "Gaara seems to think anything with a sexual term is related to food and you don't want to know what Sai said after you clocked out on us"

"Thank God they don't have a clue what they're actually saying," Iruka groaned. With force, a heavy hand landed on the younger man's head and tilted his dark face upwards to face the most serious look Iruka had ever seen the Gai's usual, cheery face. Lee must have inherited that trait from his Uncle but directed it in a more mischievous manner.

"Don't you think that's worse?" Gai's voice was firm and direct. "There are people out there who would take advantage of that kind of naivety. Don't you deal with this sort of stuff all the time?" Iruka went a little wide eyes but his held himself together. Slightly.

"I teach kindergarten!", he croaked. "You're the one that deals with all the hormonal teenagers. Aren't you the one who actually has to _teach_ this stuff?"

"All my pupils are seniors. By the time they take up my register, most of them are going on sixteen" Both teachers were at a loss. One taught kids who were too young and the other taught kids who were already knew the facts of life. Neither had any experience dealing with the middle group. They turned their heads to the third adult with pleading eyes.

"Hey, don't look at me", Yamato yelped a little worryingly. "I work with A-sexuals. The closest I get to sex lecture involves pollen and stigmas" There was that word again that made them all twinge; sex. Sure, they were adults and of course they knew all the ins and outs of the dirty deed but for some reason, one that the three parents were just learning for themselves, it's a great deal more difficult to explain the birds and the bees while you feel like the hive is going to crash on your head. Gai collapsed on his couch next to Iruka, suddenly feeling exhausted even though missed out on half his training schedule today. Iruka tried to settle the ensuing headache and Yamato gripped his folded arms a little tighter. The plant man wanted to say something. Gai's earlier statement was repeating in his head and, for a while, he kept his mouth shut about it. It couldn't be true. Sai....would have told him, right?

"I need to go. Sai will be back for dinner soon" The others never said a word. Instead they just used the same excuse to block out the same parental worry. So, three parents returned to their routines. They couldn't let their boys knew they were worried

XXXX

Over the last couple of months, Yamato was learning that even quiet kids have noisy habits. There were little things during the coarse of a normal night that often sounded like a thunder storm from inside the house. Like, putting pyjamas on; something you'd think only a child with temper tantrum could make noise over. Sai, for some odd reason, pulled his pyjama bottoms on by jumping in a circle. When Sai washed his face, Yamato thought he could hear the ocean waves coming from his bathroom. Brushing teeth, led to a five minute humming session. Yet, Yamato actually enjoyed the key-less tune and he felt the plants were enjoying it too. The plant man was just trimming a few leaves from one of the fuchsia's Sai had learned to pot. Afterwards, he collected the remains, pressed the lever for the trash can and dumped the decaying trimmings. As he wiped off his hands, Yamato looked over at the fridge door. Weeks ago, the cool cabinet had been nothing more than a white box that kept food cool and had been so for years. Now, it was a canvas for grocery lists, colourful fruit magnets and a few photographs. Yamato was looking at the first one he'd ever taken. It was the day after the camping trip. Three boys; a blonde, red head and ebony all huddled together with crooked smiles on their faces. Yamato held the picture on his hand. Taking that photo made him feel almost proud in a way. Sai didn't really smile much and, when he did, it was usually to cover something up. But, in Yamato's hand was the solid proof that Sai was happy. But what if.....?

What if what Sai was doing now was a cover up? How was Yamato supposed to tell what was paint and what was water? Yamato jerked up when he heard loud gargling. There was a massive spit, soon followed by quick moving footsteps making their way tot he living room. Yamato leaned back to peek through the kitchen door to watch Sai water the plants before bed time. The ebony artist had a ritual; right after watering each plant, he would gently brush his fingers through the stems and leaves. Then, with absolute care, he would caress the petals with his thumbs. At first, it was a strange and little odd to watch but, Yamato was trying to understand how the world in Sai's head worked. Sometimes, the world jest felt so far away. Yamato tucked the photo underneath an apple magnet and faked rummaging though the fridge while Sai brought the water jug back. The pair never felt the need to talk unless they really had to. It was just how they both were and they were content with it. Nothing really had to be said. But, right now, Yamato was feeling the words fill up inside him, pushing their way up though his throat and nearly chocking him. The adult turned to look at the child drying the jug with a dish towel.

"It's been some day, huh Sai?" The child nodded, not looking up. 'Does he really not know what he and his friends were talking about? How do they know all this stuff anyway? It's probably nothing. Kids hear stuff all the time. He'd tell me if something was wrong. Wouldn't he?' Yamato wasn't aware of it but, he was becoming something he'd always thought was ridiculous. Newspapers were riddled with scaremongering articles about all these unseen dangers and hazards just waiting around the corner wherever your children play. They made the plant man sick to his stomach during his pre-parent days. He couldn't understand how anyone could fall for this tripe and become a 'paranoid parent' just because someone says there _might _be a danger. Yamato could remember a family he once lived next to a few years ago. The Mother would never let the kid play any farther than the view from the front window of the house, so she could always keep an eye on him. Poor kid never had many friends. When Yamato decided to become a parent, he made another decision to become the polar opposite of these idiots. However, all Yamato could think of now was what might be happening when Sai was out of sight. 'What if something is happening and I'm too stubborn to ask? What...if he thinks I don't care?' Yamato slowly stepped toward Sai until they were less than a foot away.

"Sai?"

"Mmm-hmm?" Yamato nestled a hand on a small head of black hair. For a moment, Sai just looked up, a little confused. The older man pulled the boy closer, letting his larger arm wrap around Sai's little head.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Sai was pulled in a little closer, another arm wrapped around his smaller shoulders.

"Huh?"

"I mean... well...if you ever need to talk about something. I'm always here. Okay?" Sai wriggled a little until he could look up. He blinked noticeably.

"I knew we did something wrong today. I'm sorry, Tenzo but, I don't get what we did that made you all so mad at us" Yamato's face softened. He just shut his eyes and closed his arms.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Sai. Iruka and I just overreacted. That's all. Adults are like that sometimes. Sorry if we scared you" There was a pause between the pair and after a while, Sai even hugged back.

"You're right. Adults are weird" The phone started to ring. Yamato waved Sai off to bed and went to answer it.

"Green Fingers here. We grow 'em, you love 'em"

"What the?"

"Oh. Hi, Gai"

"What was that?"

"Sai said I answer the phone too boringly"

"Keep working on it. Wait- that's not why I called. Listen-" There was sudden change of tone. A serious one. "I've found something that I think you and Iruka should see. It's about the boys"

XXXX

The tea house in one of the more quite corners of Konoha was the agreed meeting. The adults needed a place where they could discuss freely and not continually look over their shoulders. The last thing they needed was some twitter head spreading their private life all over Konoha. They couldn't talk at home either in case the boys overheard. When Yamato requested that he and his associates were not to be disturbed, the hostess just gave a silent nod and led her frequent customer to a private room normally reserved for party gatherings. Yamato was popular in this little area due to his profession. Most of his work came from the tea houses needing someone who could regularly attend their gardens. The hostess couldn't very well refuse a request from the man who helped to keep this little place so popular and attractive. She led them in her paw-print yakuta to a room adorned with elegant furniture; hand carved tables without a trace of dust. Master pieces decorated the walls and the finest sake sups were already laid out for those with a taste for stronger things. Iruka could have spent hours marvelling the place if it weren't for the circumstances. The teacher spent most of his days surrounded by chipboard tables that were scribbled with graffiti. However, his mind was elsewhere and hadn't ventured much farther than last night when Gai called him. The whole way here he has been clenching his fists like an agitated ape. The hostess smiled as the door slid closed, brushing her short, brown strands and hoping not to smudge the face paint on her cheeks. It might be time to talk to the boss about these difficult uniforms, she thought to herself. She looked to the clock and felt the annoying combination of relief that her shift had ended and having to go home to deal with her two-

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Just as the hostess was about to rush back in, she halted. To suddenly barge in could lead her into trouble with boss. Especially after they requested to be left in private. She fought against her moral conscience, realising if they needed help then they would have asked for it. Meanwhile, Yamato was struggling to hold back a freakishly strong Iruka before the teacher had the chance to leap over the table. Gai couldn't really blame Iruka for reacting this way though. The gym teacher would have reacted the exact same way if someone suggested what he just did. Just a moment ago, Gai had shown the other two adults a book. Gaara always kept a small pile of novels near his little area next to the couch. Gai figured it was some sort of comfort zone and the parent of two couldn't help but think how adorable it was to see Gaara trying to read when Lee looks over his little Brother from the arm of the couch. Some days, Gai would leave a glass of Gaara's favourite juice by the book pile when he knew the red head would be coming home soon. Last night, when Gai went to collect the empty glass that had been forgotten due to a certain someone trying to smother a taller someone with cushion for pestering the smaller one for over an hour, he noticed an odd looking cover. Later, he really wished he hadn't been able to find his glasses. As if the title wasn't petrifying enough, but there was also a small note written on the inside of the back cover. A very inappropriate note that made Gai's face blush the colour of a beetroot.

"Look", Gai said calmly with a lot of effort. "I know it's a far fetched notion but what if I'm right and we're ignoring something serious?" Iruka sat with a loud thump. Yamato felt a twinge of fear crawl over him when he saw the look on Iruka's face.

"I don't like this", the young teacher growled. "They'd have told us if something this fishy was going on"

"But they might not even realise if something is wrong. Someone might be telling them these things and waiting until they get too curious"

"Your Nephew seems have a good grasp of adult language" Gai flinched at Iruka's remark. Yamato quickly felt like he was turning into a referee in a boxing match. If the plant man didn't' say something soon, fists were gonna fly and he might get caught in the middle.

"Look, Iruka" Yamato timidly held his hands up in hopes it might somehow guard himself from Iruka's temper. "Gai does have a point. Look, I'd hate to think something was happening to Sai and I turned a blind eye. Let's at least find out what's going on. Every-thing might just be far fetched as it seems" The negotiator silently prayed he had managed to calm Iruka because, in all honesty, Yamato was saying it all for his own peace of mind. They left the tea house with a steamed Iruka leading the way.

The adults only had one thing to go on; a small sticker on the inside cover. It was the address of a book store none of them had heard of before. It was pretty faded and tarnished, which could mean the place might not even been in business any more. Plus, there was no telling how many hands had handled that book before it worked it's way into Gaara's. If they were really lucky though, maybe they could narrow it down. The street name was familiar and Gai nearly had a heart attack at the thought of Gaara wondering through an area like that. The building they found was like finding an elephant in a haystack; it was pretty much the only building with no broken windows or collapsing roofs. It looked almost new. The sign on the front window was turned to 'closed' but the lights were still on inside.

"Do you think it's smart for all of us to go in at once?" Iruka pointed out.

"You're right.", Gai added. "I doubt this place sees much business in this nick of woods. How are we going to do it then?" The trio bounced ideas back and forth; should one go in and the rest follow? All of the at once? One after the other or maybe-"Crap! The lights went out!" They all rushed to the door and hoped to beat the lock and key. As the door whammed open, a bell clanged and was sent flying from it's post. The force of the door knocked it into the air and hit a man on a ladder right on the crown of his head. A black haired torso lay beneath an avalanche of books. It groaned and twitched as the three frantic pairs of hands tired to scoop the man out the rubble. While Gai and Iruka tried to prop the fallen man up, Yamato checked for signs of life and was relieved to see a groggy, half conscious face wobbling side to side. Out of the blue, a long yawn caught the adults attention. The weird part was, they couldn't tell who made it; the dog, the bigger dog or the guy with a blue mask behind a desk, who looked like he'd just woken up?

"Don't worry about him", yawned the masked man. "That's not the first time he's fallen from that thing _this week_. Just stick him in a chair and he'll be fine when he wakes up" The trio weren't sure what to do so, they just followed the instructions. Iruka took a short look of the place; either the owner didn't keep many books or they were halfway through a clear-out. The poor guy they knocked over was just unlucky to be under the only set of shelves with hardbacks on them. Soon enough, Iruka remembered why they were they were here in the first place. As the sleepy looking man scratched his head of spiky, grey hair, Iruka put on his best smile and took out the book from his jacket pocket. Gai frisked himself. He could have sworn he had that thing when they left the tea house. "You know we're closed, right?" The masked man pointed at the book Iruka was carrying. "And we're a book store not a library" The bronze man just chuckled at the bored book keeper which, slightly scared the other parents.

"Actually, I _am_ here to return this. I found it in the street and your address was inside" Iruka scratched the scar on his nose and continued to smile. "Rather than let it get thrown in the trash, I thought you could make better use of it." The masked man just yawned again and extended his arm to the left to collect the item. As his hand graced the cover, his non-scared eye widened a little.

"Where...did you find this, exactly?" The grin pointed at Gai.

"His son who's been sharing it with his son", he pointed Yamato, "and mine too" Silence ensued. The worried book keeper slowly raised himself from the chair only to be snatched up by the collar of t-shirt and slammed into an empty book case.

"It's not what you think it is!"

"I should shove each and every page of that filth down you god-damn throat you sick bastard!" It was difficult to tell who was freaked out more; the guy pinned to the wall or the two adults that who believed Iruka would never harm anything bigger than his finger. The dogs looked like they could care very little about what was happening to their terrified owner which, in a way, relieved Gai and Yamato. They were worried enough with the thought that Iruka might kill this guy let alone fighting off two dogs.

"I swear I can explain everything!"

"So you can explain how our kids have this sick piece of smut with an invitation to your fucking lap?! I bet you'd even blame those scratches on your arm on the dogs too right?" The masked man turned his head only to regret it as he saw the five long marks, encrusted with flecks of dried blood. "Thought so", Iruka concluded. "You've exactly five seconds to convince me you're innocent before I throw you're ass to the Uchiha police"

"Iruka! Look out!" The furious parent wasn't even given the chance to realise how stupid he'd been to not think that there might be someone else in the building, just waiting for the chance to smash a chair over Iruka's head. Splinters and chunks of wood scattered around the fallen Iruka as a loud whistle pierced the air. The large and small dog immediately ran to the feet of the woman who called them and were soon accompanied by several more four legged guards who emerged from a curtained doorway. In less than a moment, a wall of gnashing beasts stood between Iruka and his own kill. Gai and Yamato wanted to rush to Iruka's aid but they were afraid to blink with all those snarling sets of teeth until, they saw who was controlling the hounds. It was like seeing a whole other person. Yamato knew the woman to be of such a sweet nature. Always complementing, checking everything was suitable and cheerfully smiling all day long. Now, with one commanding whistle. She could set loose her pack of hell hounds. It wasn't like seeing the tea house hostess at all.

"Great timing, Rin" The parents thought the dogs were scary. They were more grateful to have the fangs facing because whatever kind of look the hostess had on her face when she turned to the book keeper, he went deathly pale.

"Ugghhhh.....man, what hit me on the-woah! How long have I been out? That's a low blow, Kakashi"

"What the hell are you talking about now, Goggle Face?" Kakashi shrieked.

"It's bad enough you brag about your late night parties but to bring it here to shove in my face? Why am I friends with you?"

"You're fucking loving this aren't you?"

"ENOUGH!" The arguing pair froze like scolded children and their Mother did not look one bit pleased. Rin pointed one, stiff finger at the the man on the floor who she attacked earlier. "Tell me in one sentence why you're here and make it good or the biggest mutt here gets the first bite of your Johnson" Iruka thrust his upper half, slightly ignoring the fact that the action could cost him a precious limb.

"_That_ son-of-a-bitch is a paedophile!" Everything went quiet again. Even the dogs faces dropped. An almost insane laugh from a chair in the corner broke the silence. Everyone silently hoped the guy in the goggles would knock himself out again.

"Bwahahahaha!! Oh, man. You've been called some amount of shit, Kakashi but that takes the biscuit!"

"Fuck you, Obito!" Poor Rin. She just stood there with hand of shame covering her embarrassed eyes. Yamato would have tried to comfort her is he didn't think it would cost him a chunk of flesh. One of the dogs, a tall skinny one with a head of fur like Kakashi's mad spikes must have it's owners despair and edged away from the circle. Nodding it's head to other canines and reaching its distressed master. They grey hound attentively licked the hanging hand by Rin's side and was rewarded with a pat to the head.

"Are we ever going to have a normal week in here?"

"Oh c'mon, Rin. We've gone a whole two weeks without Kakashi showing up late for work"

"That's because he lives here now", the poor woman groaned. Once again, Obito's attempt to make Rin laugh failed.

"Ok...", Iruka butted in. "So far, _none_ of you have given me a reason not to hang this guy from his good eye" Rin sighed and waved her dogs away.

"Believe me", she groaned. "I need to think of a reason everyday no to so the same thing. But one thing I'm sure I'll never have to worry about is what you think Kakashi is" Gai and Yamato could finally help Iruka up now that the teeth had been put away.

"Yeah? And why is that?" Iruka asked.

"Cause 'Mr Kiddy Fiddler' is the biggest womaniser in Konoha" All the adults were slowly wishing they'd left Obito beneath the books. However, as crude as those words were, Iruka felt a little relieved. There was still one thing on his mind though before he could leave all his worries in the dog dish.

"Then explain that book" Rin glared where Iruka pointed and spotted the cause of this whole fiasco. Kakashi tried to dart for it and ended up taking a hard foot to the face. In the corner, Obito was holding in a laugh big enough to burst his stomach. Nothing like a good Kakashi-bashing to fight off a headache. Rin picked up the book, innocently enough, then threw it like a sharp dagger straight at Kakashi's head. While the wounded man wailed in agony, Rin looked ready to tear out the good eye from that idiot's socket.

"I told you to _burn_ that thing!"

"It was a Christmas present"

"It was sick then. It's sick now and it will always be sick so quit trying to sneak it into my life!"

"I think that got him into trouble in the first place, Rin. He couldn't get you into it so he's going for the younger generation"

"I did not!" Kakashi cried. "I gave him the wrong one! All of the books were mixed up 'cause of the move and the one I wanted had the same coloured cover!"

"What book could have possibly-"

"Sex-ed!" This lot were turning into a CD on repeat.

"Hold on. You actually tried to pass on wisdom, not smut?"

"The kid looked desperate for help. What was I supposed to do?"

"Desperate for help?" The quiet voice wasn't what caused everyone to flinch. It was hearing it from Yamato in such a pained tone that really shocked Iruka and Gai. Kakashi waved his hands. He had to think quickly about what to say without spilling what he'd promised to keep.

"Oh no! Don't take it that way! He saw me reading one of my books at the....library and was curious. He was too shy to ask so I offered to give him a 'facts of life' book. I didn't know I'd given him the wrong one until you guys showed up" Kakashi finally stood up from the floor he'd slumped on. He stepped past Rin and stood in front of the who could have killed him, if given the chance, and bowed. "Please forgive me for all the mess I've caused. I meant no harm" A dark hand held itself out like a lonely olive branch. It felt like a poor excuse for an apology but Kakashi couldn't believe his luck to have Iruka wanting to make up and gladly shook the extended hand.

"Look", said Iruka with a glum look on his face. "I don't usually crash a party and leave but...it's been a long day" Like Kakashi was going argue. The parents left with silent goodbyes. There was no bell to send them off or welcome who just came in. Whoever it was, wasn't going to be welcomed for long even if there was a bell.

"You must have a heart stopping collection, Son. Someone just fainted out there and two others had to carry him off" He _definitely_ wasn't going to be welcomed by Kakashi.

"YOU! Old man!", yelled the offspring who just escaped death a few minutes ago. "You're the reason I'm in this mess you yellow belly coward of a doctor!" Maybe Rin should consider working full tome at the tea house.

XXXX

That night, three parents were home with the realisation that they were going to have to have 'the talk' with their boys. They had planned to sit their kids down, ask what was on their minds, find out just what they knew and what they didn't. Just like good parents should.

When Gai arrived home, he found his two kids were wrestling again in the living room. He should have told them to stop and start what he had intended but instead, dived head first into the tangled pile and the Brothers had to struggle to fight their giant of a Father off. Yamato, after struggling to carry the plant he was supposed to deliver back from the street he left it in, had nearly forgotten what he was supposed to be discussing until he came home. He would have started what he had intended but, Sai had rushed to him just as Yamato opened the door with a half dead fuchsia. The poor kid looked so devastated that Yamato could have cried. He couldn't let Sai's favourite flower die could he? Poor Iruka was dreading what was waiting for him at home. He was never very good with this sort of stuff verbally. It was awkward enough just to learn it at school and who knows how much ill information Iruka was going to have to sift through. He would have started what he had intended as soon as he got through the door but the most marvellous scent stopped him before he even took two steps. Two large bowls sat empty and waiting to be filled with the noodles boiling on the hob and, what smelled pork sizzling in Iruka's favourite sauce. When he saw that hyper head of blonde leap at the sight of him, the parent couldn't feel more overwhelmed with pride at this Son's achievement and considerate gesture. Or maybe he was just grateful the apartment was still intact. Eventually, the Dads will do what has to be done. Until then, a night or two of spending time and loving their Sons wasn't going to do a bit of harm. Meanwhile, one Father was running from his only Son and hoped Rin or Obito would come to the rescue before Kakashi could catch up.

**AHHHHH! I put a curse on myself for this LOOOONG overdue update. I apologise to anyone who is actually keeping up with this ^^; It's been a hectic few months. New college year that is out to destroy me!!!!!! People died and I'm worried more will. BLAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!**

**Anywho, I've had this sitting untyped for ages and managed to sneak some time to get it done and I've spent any free time I can snatch to proof read it. Whoooo! Done!**

**There were quite a few things I wanted to write about in this to raise issues and concerns but, still get a giggle in their somewhere ^_^ That's the end of this arc but more will come soon (hopefully)**


	9. Bathtime

How Orphan Boys Play

CH9

Soft light gently lit the room. The scent of sweet peaches caressed the steamed filled air. A hot bath lay waiting for supple skin to embrace its sultry solution. So warm and comforting. When the door was closed, the steam thickens and becomes a pair of strong arms that wrap around every aching muscle, every qualm that weighs on our minds and melts every fear that denies us from slumber. Such peace.

"Naruto, I promise nothing bad will happen"

"I can't do! I can't! Please!" The poor boy was petrified. If it were any other place, Naruto would have knocked teeth out to get away but, they'd locked him in. Gaara and Sai. How could they? Cornered like some sort of vermin. How could they? How could they?

"Naruto.....", Gaara whispered. "We're trying to help you" The blonde backed himself up against the bathroom door. No way out. No where to run. How could they? Naruto felt one of his rigid fingers being tugged on. He peeked out of a tightly shut eye to see Sai trying to pull Naruto's hand close. Probably to draw something stupid on it. Naruto snatched himself away before Sai could even reach into his pocket.

"Get away!" Immediately, Naruto clawed out the roots of his hair and dropped to the floor. He scrunched into a ball, tight and constrained. No way would he let them sweet talk him. Nothing would make him do it. Nothing will make him get in there! How could they? How did they? Why are they? Gaara and Sai knew why. Two nights ago, Gaara had raced to Sai's house as fast and his little legs could carry him with, what could have been news but, probably the worst either of them could hear. Big Gai had announced it was time for a little get-together. Summer would be drawing to an end soon and, as important as it is to keep an active and busy to keep the mind youthful, it was also important to relax once in a while and catch up with friends. And nothing could spell it all better than an evening at an Onsen. The second Gai asked Gaara to invite the rest of the gang, the red head bolted straight out the door and speed down the street. Gai just figured his youngest was excited. Little did the green giant know, his smallest son was dashing to **warn **Sai. The pair had to do something fast before Naruto could find out. They had a plan. One they knew would be cruel but, had to be done. Both of them knew Naruto would be stubborn enough to put on a huge fake smile and walk straight into something that could kill him with fear alone. Naruto didn't like anyone thinking he was scared of anything in general, let alone a tub of water. Gaara and Sai had to do something. If not, Naruto would go, see those gaping holes of water and have heart attack just from the sight. They couldn't let their friend be humiliated like that. Together they devised a strategy. Gaara came with the main ideas while Sai tweaked the minor details. The red head realised they would have to trick Naruto somehow. Maybe a game and it had to be in Naruto's house so, when they did manage to get the blonde in the bathroom, he wouldn't freak out as much. Hopefully. Their main problem with that idea was how on earth would they be able to trick Naruto into a place he probably keeps a fearful eye on? That was when Sai stepped in' a blind fold. A game of blind man's bluff was ideal, rather than attempt to use brute force. This wasn't exactly the first time Gaara and Sai had tried to 'help' Naruto. Back in the orphan days when they were all barely higher than Kurenai's hip, the pair had actually tired to carry their friend and throw him in the tub. They never even managed to get through the bathroom door that time. Gaara took a head-butt to the face while Sai was severely winded by a hard kick to the stomach. Naruto didn't speak to either of them for weeks after that. This time, they had to get it right or Naruto would shun them forever. They knew, for all Naruto's bravado, the blonde handles rejection very badly. Even thought they were only trying to help, forcing a person to something they fear most feels like you're rejecting everything you know about them. They just had to get it right. Now, the only problem they had to sort now was, what to do next? Naruto's in the bathroom but there ain't no way in hell or heaven he was moving from that spot on the floor. So, now what? How were they supposed to help Naruto when he wouldn't move? He was all scrunched up like......well......a ball. Sai had his own idea now. With Naruto hiding his eyes, Sai was free to make a pushing motion. Gaara quickly caught on. It'd be funny it weren't such a serious situation. The pair mimed...one..two...three...ROLL!

"Whaaaaa!" Naruto was rolled right over his head, landing face up at the ceiling and feet almost reaching the base of the tub. Gaara and Sai instinctively threw themselves on top of Naruto before he could get up and kill his friends. "Get off me!! You can't make me do it! Get the f-!" It wasn't exactly rare to see Sai quite or silent but, it was what he just saw that left the artist quite speechless. Gaara lifted his face from Naruto's with a loud gasp.

"I knew that would shut you up. Now will you calm down and listen to us already?" The blonde just gave a single, slow nod. Gaara still kept a firm grip on Naruto's now loose arms and explained everything. Naruto could spot a liar a hundred miles away and he deserved to hear the truth. He had to know why it was time to face his fear.

Xxxx

Two, bare skinned boys stood shin deep in Luke-warm water. Both were holding the shaking hands of a quivering, bare blonde who stood outside the water.

"Just one step, Naruto. That's all you need to do", said Gaara in a voice so much gentler than his usual rasp. The pair in the water had never seen Naruto looks so scared. The blonde was always the brave one, like a story book hero; nothing could frighten him and nothing could beat him. Once, he climbed a tree taller than Konoha's tallest tower to help find a lost dog that had wandered into the woods. Shadows and creatures of the dark were scared of him. Bullies bigger that butcher dogs could never out-fight him. There was nothing too high, too dangerous or too risky. And there was definitely nothing that would stop him from helping a friend. So, how could something this mundane leave the hero so terrified? "On the count of three okay?" Gaara confirmed. It was now or never. "One....", Naruto gripped his friends tightly by the wrists. "Two.....", blue eyes hid behind his behind tightly shut lids. "Three!" A desperate, sharp intake of breath, followed by a quick yank on stiff arms. Three bare boys stood shin deep in rippling water, two on either side of the one who looked close to tears. That was one step. They made it. One BIG step. Maybe they could really do this? Just a few more steps to go now. Gaara took Naruto's hand in both of his and gave a silent nod to Sai. "You're doing great, Naruto. We're really proud of you. Do you think you can sit down" No response, other than constant shaking. Until....

"Y....ye......ye......", he could barely get a syllable out.

"Shhhhhhhh, it's okay. Sai and I are here" Naruto's throat started jumping. He was holding it all back with everything he could. Gaara pointed at Naruto's knees, barely holding their owner up. Sai and Gaara knew Naruto wasn't going to get through this part on his own. The blonde was so focused on just keeping it all together with every fibre he could muster. So, craftily , Sai reached around and gave a sharp nudge into the back of Naruto's bare, unstable knees. Immediately, Naruto collapsed into the ready arms of his friends. It didn't look like the blonde had noticed but, the reaction on his face when his lower half became submerged would have made the lip of the most hardened man quiver. The worst was yet to come. Sai made the next move and turned the knob for the hot water. As the sound of fast running water crashed against the surface, Naruto looked close to fleeing for dear life. Maybe they had pushed it too far? He was starting to hyperventilate rapidly and his wide, terrified eyes pulsed chaotically. Any minute now, if he could summon the will power, he'd leap from the tub and race to the mountains with any dignity he could scrape along the way. Gaara had to think quick and decided he had one trick that might just work. In a swift move, a pair of thumbs pressed deeply into the tense cluster of muscles beneath the shoulder blades. Sai watched quietly as Naruto arched at the sudden touch. The ebony watched, almost fascinated as the blonde's face slowly melted away from fear and into something much more relaxed. Parted lips let out a slow, deep exhale and a stressed back gently curled forward until a heavy head found Sai's shoulder to rest on. Sai didn't move. He was a little astonished in all honesty. In less than five minutes, Gaara had turned a panic attack into......this.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sai whispered even though Naruto looked too out of it to notice anything being said.

"Big Gai's trying to wean me off my insomnia but, I keep thinking of the old nightmares and any time I try to fall asleep, he rubs my back to take my mind off it" They both fell quiet as Naruto let of a soft hum of comfort. There was just on thing left to do. They'd accomplished so much so far but, there was still one vitally important piece left before they could finish. Sai turned of the water. Naruto didn't move. Gaara slowed down the kneading to a halt. Naruto remained still. One of the halted hands wrapped around the slightly relaxed chest and placed itself over the muscle it couldn't soothe.

"Naruto?" Gaara said ever so gently, "Who hurt you here so badly?" A small flinch. Gaara was smart enough to figure out that if some**thing** had caused Naruto's fear then he would have overcome it years ago. The only thing that could could knock this brave boy off his horse had to be a some**one**. "Did someone you love try to hurt you?" Sai was confused. What was Gaara getting at? Naruto had been an orphan just as long as they had been. Right? Gaara hadn't gone over this part of the plan. "Who did you lose, Naruto?" What the? Out the blue, Naruto's head shot up, Sai froze. Naruto was looking straight at him yet, right through him. It looked like some sort of trance. Then, a moment later, blue eyes began to spill.  
"Mama"

xxxx

There is period in time that Konoha refers to as 'The Raid'. However, most would rather forget it ever happened. It was a dark time for the peaceful village. Days were filled with anxiety and prayer; prayers that the days would last forever because, as night falls over the lands, invaders would rise from the dark. Beasts not worthy of the title of 'dog' let alone' man' took it upon themselves to attack the peace of Konoha. They sneak under the cover of night, when clouds are thick and no-one can pinpoint a soul. In their dozens they broke into sleeping houses and left homes in pieces. Men who might prove competition were slaughtered in their slumber. Helpless women were stained with sin. Children, cowardly murdered for sport. Anger erupted. Vengeance had to be taken for the innocent. Even those who believed in words over violence couldn't stand by as these evil thugs threatened their homes, friends and family. The brave, fearless and hurt men men of Konoha marched as an army to avenge their shattered peace. Their return was announced victorious but, not without it's losses. The leader if these noble men was no where to be seen. His dear wife and infant son waited by the gate for a long time. Over and over she told herself her must be lagging behind. He was never one to boast. Surely he'd arrive soon, somewhere in this crowd. He'll pop out of nowhere with that big, goofy grin and dash straight for his little boy like he'd been away his whole life. Any minute now. He'll come. Maybe he's just.....He could be......

Three years later, a young boy and his mother prepare for their evening bath. The little blonde child would rummage around in his box for his favourite bath toy while Mama picked out all her favourite bathroom sweets. Lots of times the little boy would ask if he could have some and why does Mama keep all her sweets in the bathroom? She'd always reply that they were special sweets that only certain adults could have. Mama must be very special if can have sweets no-one else can. She better be careful though, if she eats that many she'll get cavities. The pair always did the same thing together during baths; one would play with his little rubber frog while the other would wash her hair and little boy's afterwards. Tonight was different. Mummy didn't wash her hair. She just, felt like sleeping. Silly Mama. That's what the bed is for. C'mon, Mama, you gotta get up. It's too wet and watery to sleep here. Time started to drip away without a word from Mama. The poor child couldn't see what was happening in front of him. Mama, wake up. The water's all cold and it's making me and you cold too. We'll both get sick, Mama. Why won't you wake up? Mama?

Poor, lonely, little orphan boy.

XXXX

Gaara held onto Naruto like the blonde was going to fall from a deadly height while Naruto clung to Sai desperately, forming a chain of consolation. Little Gaara recognised the tears pouring from his close friend. It was something that been held in for too long. The red head had cried the exact same way the day he finally made friends. He had found someone who could make him cry. The hard cry that sits deep inside like bad meat; churning and rotting away into something that fills you with such disgust of yourself. Naruto took that away from Gaara, just by being Naruto. Now, the red head felt he'd been able to pay his dear friend back, just a little. A small hand nestled over the weeping heart and was soon joined by the warm accompaniment of gentle arms and the oddly soothing sound of a raspy voice.

Sai could only sit there and watch, his bewildered expression going unnoticed even to himself. How did Gaara do that? Both he and Sai knew that Naruto was long overdue for a breakdown but Sai couldn't fathom how Gaara had actually managed to find a way to break through Naruto's barriers. Sai wanted to help. He really did but, to try and help now now felt a little invasive.

"Hey.....*sniff*....Sai?" The ebony jerked his head back a little in surprise

"Yeah?"

"Can you turn on some more hot water? It's getting cold in here" Sai smiled so wide it nearly stretched his face out. Just then, the sound of a door opening perked three pairs of ears.

"Hey, Naruto! I got leeks for dinner. Want to know how to make stew tonight?" Gaara and Sai thought well enough to keep quiet and assumed Naruto would too.

"I'm in the bath!" It's never wise to assume. There was no response. Just the sound of a paper bag hitting the floor and the rapid thunder of feet. SLAM!!

"Ow! Why is the bathroom door locked?" There was fumbling from Iruka's side of the door until a key and lock noise made Gaara and Sai shrink into the water as best as they could. "Naruto, are you really in the-" Sometimes it's difficult to read an expression on someone's face, even the ones you're closest to. Iruka stood half in, half out the door way. He had entered with a ready smile but it dropped into something....blank. Poor Gaara and Sai were embarrassed to say the least. The red in their cheeks wasn't coming from the hot water, that's for sure. While three bathroom dwellers kept silent and still during this awkward moment, Naruto managed to make it feel just that little bit more tense.

"Iruka! I did it! I'm in the bath!" The blonde toad-boy leapt from the water and pounced on his bemused father, water dripping everywhere and a bareback boy hopping like crazy. The poor man held his arms in mid-air while his naked son hugged the life out of him. Iruka dared to peak out of a shut eye to see his dripping son, looking up at him with bright, sparkling eyes. Iruka had never seen Naruto like this before. He'd seen the kid happy of course but something seemed different. It felt awkward as hell from the adult's point of view.

"Good job, Naruto" A quick pat to then head, a hand to cover the eyes and a rushed step out the door. Naruto stood in a cold puddle, confused and dripping wet.

"What's his problem?"

"YOU'RE NAKED, YOU IDIOT!", screamed the pair in the tub.

XXXX

The evening of the bath house finally came, which cleared up a few things for a certain adult and relieved him of a few restless, over-thinking nights. It was new and exciting experience for the boys; being in place full of burly, macho men easily made the trio feel so adult. There was the mechanical but sociable process of washing up. The adults took up their stools and showers while the boys blew bubbles in the bath water. They'd had shown up a little late in the evening so, by the time they ventured to the outdoor hot springs, it was more or less just this little group. Good thing too.

"This isn't a bath", Naruto blurted as they all stood in the open grounds. Everyone looked at the blonde peculiarly. "It's a pool!" Very good thing no-one else was here because something something infectious suddenly spread through the air. When one crazed, knuckle-head raced and leapt into steaming water, two others followed. Their sudden excitement had the adults chasing after them and an almost volcanic splash erupting from the water. It wasn't until the over-sized kids were in mid-air that they remembered they had adult sized bodies.

Later.....

"That looked really sore"

"Well it's their own fault", Gaara retorted. "If you're dumb enough to jump into a bath that's too shallow for you then, you deserve have a sore bum" Naruto giggled into his folded arms that sat on the cobble stone rim of the hot spring. His long legs floating in the murky, hot water, belly face down as he looked towards the door, waiting for Sai to come back. The ebony artist drew the short straw and was left with the job of finding the Bath House keeper and leading the sprained parents to the medical room. So, Gaara and Naruto had the whole pool to themselves. Bath's weren't exactly new to Gaara but this place was a whole new world on it's own. The water felt boiling hot but it didn't burn. The air was thick with steam like a winter fog and filled Gaara's nose and lungs with the rich aroma of the surrounding wilderness. The red head let his hands drift back and forth along the top of the silky water, silently marvelling at the strange way it could feel thick and thin at the same time.

"You look real happy, Gaara" The red head hadn't realised his eyes had been closed, or how heavy his body suddenly felt. He also didn't notice how much closer the only other person in the water was to him now.

"Huh?" Naruto was looking at Gaara a little funny but the red head felt so dazed that he couldn't be bothered to pin-point it.

"I never got to thank you, you know" Faintly, Gaara could feel his hand being held. He couldn't quite shake off the dizziness floating over him. Little by little, the blonde moved closer to the completely passive red head. Gaara's mind just seemed to be working in slow motion until, he felt his friend's mouth against his own and suddenly got a kick start. Almost head butting Naruto along the way, Gaara jerked away and quickly sat up-right.

"What'd you do that for?" The cheeky blonde just gave a cocky grin as he propped an elbow on the cobbles and leaned his head against his hand.

"Hey, you're the one who kissed me first"

"Since whe-oh", Gaara caught himself, quickly blushing into a deep shade of red his hair would be jealous of. He'd almost forgotten about that. It was just something Gaara had done to keep Naruto quiet. At the time, he had thought nothing of it, it was just something that had to be done but now, the impulsive act felt so embarrassing.

"Hey, don't go hiding in the water. I only wanted to thank you"

"Then why didn't you just say so?" Gaara said with his face half in/out the water. Naruto wanted to laugh but did his best to restrain. Gaara never got embarrassed. Neither did Sai most of the time. Those two just hadn't interacted enough with people, before becoming friends, to pick up on those kind of social skills. Naruto almost felt proud of himself.

"I'd thought you'd want something special for a 'thank you'. I mean look at me, Gaara. I'm in a bath!" The blonde sunk shoulder deep into the water to match Gaara's eye level and moved a little closer. "Didn't you like it?" Gaara dunked his nose into the water as if he could hide his blush from Naruto at this point. Then, Gaara felt a finger nudging his head out the water, bringing him nose to nose with his whiskered friend. "Do you want another one?" The blonde imagined a pair of eyebrows stretching high up on the red head's face. It didn't look like Naruto was going to get an answer so, he's have to make his own. This time, Gaara didn't jerk away at the touch. Instead, he made a small squeak and nearly slipped with fright when he felt Naruto's arms wrap around his back. Oh, this was so weird but.....kinda nice. It's okay for this to feel nice right? Even though we're both boys? Oh....wow. Gaara gasped aloud when he and Naruto parted, making the blonde giggle.

"You're not supposed to hold you're breath, Bookworm. How can someone who reads as many books as you do not know anything about kissing?"

"I don't read kissy stuff", Gaara growled.

"What about that book you got from that Kakashi guy you told us about? That looked like it had kissy stuff in it"

"If it did, I didn't get that far. It went missing"

Oh, Naruto thought to himself disappointedly but, quickly grinned again at a sudden idea.

"Well, that just means we need to keep practising" Instead of shying away like he naturally bashful, Gaara leapt at Naruto with open arms and returned the earlier kiss as they both plunged into hot water. Off to the side, was someone who felt completely outcast. Poor Sai could only watch as his only friends suddenly became much closer without him. The lonely ebony could feel something brewing deep in his stomach. It reminded him of what he felt back in the bath. It's not fair. Sai had tried to help as much as Gaara. Sai was there too, holding Naruto by the hand and keeping him close while he cried. So why was.....Why was Naruto only thanking Gaara? It's not fair! It's not fair! You know what? Screw them. Screw them both! He ran away, trailing his first betrayal all the way home.

* * *

The goal behind this chapter was to make you all cry.

It's short, i know. Originally there was a bit more 'activity' between Gaara and Naruti but, i felt that would turn this into such a cheese fest. i love cheese, don't get me wrong. However, i want to take a more seriosu approach to this story. I've already started the new chapter but i can't say when it will be updated. THanks for being so patient. If you cried, you've helped me achieve a writing goal. If not, you have no soul and get no virtual comfort cookie.


	10. A Friend Called Uchiha

How Orphan Boys Play

Chapter 10-Boys kissing Boys

Usually, Sai relished errand days with Yamato because, that meant having to travel around half of Konoha, spending ages waiting for the plant man to finish talking to really boring people Sai didn't even know. Today, he welcomed and even hoped it would last all day. It had been two weeks since _it_ had happened and Sai felt like he was drifting further and further away from the two people he shared his closest bonds with.

Like he cared. _They_ didn't. Still, the whole thing had made the first week back at school pretty lonely. Poor Sai had the unfortunate luck of being last to enter the classroom, making him the odd number and had to be put at a desk all on his own instead of being able to share it with someone. Plus, Gaara and Naruto had been paired up to sit together and were all the way on the other side of the room next to the windows that overlooked the view of the forest hills. Like Sai cared. The further away he was from them, the better.

The longer these errands took today, the better too. Unfortunately, there was only one errand today and it was the foxes den of Konoha; the Yamanaka Flower Shop. If gossip and rumours could breed, this would be where they would spawn. It was also home to the most annoying and ugliest person alive that Sai had ever known, Ino Yamanaka. She considered herself to be the rose of Konoha with her long locks of blonde hair, her vast assortment of purple miniskirts and amazing intellect...... apparently. All Sai could see was a screechy, half naked, loud mouthed cow with holes in her ears that her brains probably leaked out of. Like Sai cared though, better here than with-

"Hello there, Miss Yamanaka. Is Mrs. Yamanaka around?" Yamato was always oddly cheerful when it came to clients, it creeped Sai out a little. And there was Ino, right behind the counter with her head propped up on her elbows, eyeing up Sai like he was made of chocolate. Yamato never seemed to notice.

"Not today", Ino beamed. "She and Dad are away on a long weekend get-away. My Aunt is filling in though". Sai noticed a peculiar twinkle in Yamato's eye, something he'd never seen in the plant man before and the ebony wasn't sure why.

"Hey, Sai," said Yamato suddenly. "I think you should take Ino out for a little while. I'll be here all day filling out papers. I know how much that bores you so you might as well go and enjoy the day".

With every facial muscle Sai could find, he begged Yamato to take all that back and say he was joking. It seems whatever made Yamato's eyes twinkle like that was blinding the man from his son's expression of dire terror. Before the doomed boy could get a word in, Ino had already hopped over the counter, latched onto Sai's arm and flew out the door with him. Sai cast a 'you're dead' look that went completely unnoticed by the perky parent.

XXXX

ONE HOUR LATER..........

"And that cow's like, 'ya-huh!' and I told her, 'nuh-uh'! She thinks she's so cool. No-one's cool with a forehead that size. You've seen it right? It's like a bill-board. I bet if I shined it I could see my reflection"

Right about now, Sai wished he carried mushrooms in his pockets instead of pens. Something red and filled with poison would bring such sweet satisfaction.

"Oh, look! There's Sasuke! Hurry, Sai, put your arm around me. This'll make him so jealous" Like he had any choice over the matter.

If it made her stop talking, he'd glue his arm onto her face. Sasuke Uchiha was coming their way along the street. Sai didn't really know him that well other than by name and that there was never a moment where he wasn't surrounded by really loud girls, Ino included. Just then, when they were about to cross paths, Ino suddenly bolted right up to the Uchiha, yanking Sai behind her like a rag doll.

"Hey, Sasuke! Check out my new boyfriend" Sai was tossed between Ino and Sasuke.

The dizzy artist was starting to lose track of which way was up. The Uchiha barely blinked. He just stood there with his hands tucked into his pockets. When he spoke, his voice was noticeably deeper than anyone else in their class.

"Good to hear, Ino. That means you won't be mad at Sakura"

"Why would I be mad at her? She isn't your girlfriend. Is she?"

"No," he answered while reaching for something in his pocket. "But you might have gotten mad at the present she gave me" The Uchiha plucked something pink from his pocket that made Ino's face drop into a sickly white and rose into a red, fiery rage.

"That little whore!"

Sasuke gave the already pissed off pig another poke by twirling the panties on his pinky. She snatched them and glared at the pink, lacy item like it was a dead animal. A split second later, Ino bolted down the street and yelled every foul word mixed with 'forehead' until she was out of sight.

"Thank fuck. I can hear my thoughts again", said the Uchiha before turning to walk off.

However, he was stopped mid-way because something caught his arm and pulled him back around. Sasuke suddenly felt a hard nib run across his the skin of his forearm before he saw the kid, who was with Ino, scribbling away. Whether he was startled, confused or curious, Sasuke just stood there and waited until this weirdo finished.

When it was done, Sai pointed at his saviour's arm with alert in his eyes and squeak in his throat. Sasuke allowed a little emotion in his face to show he was actually impressed with the design. It was a gruesome dragon with an ugly pig snout and there was a smaller figure with spiked hair driving a mighty sword through the beast's chest. That'd make a cool tattoo Sasuke thought to himself.

"You're welcome", said the Uchiha in a cold tone. "You looked like you needed saving"

Sai quickly scribbled on his own palm and showed Sasuke the pair of underwear accompanied by a question mark he had drawn.

"You're lucky I saw you before she saw me. She thinks they belong to another annoying pain called Sakura". The Uchiha jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I just yanked them off someone's wash line. They could belong to my Great Aunt for all I know" Sasuke suddenly sighed like he was bored of his own story and started to walk off, leaving Sai to just stand there on his own.

"You coming or what?"

The ebony artist's ears perked up and he quickly trotted until he and Sasuke were walking side by side.

XXXX

The pair didn't say much all day. In fact, they didn't do much all day either which left an unusual sensation in Sai's stomach. Normally, his day never had the chance to do nothing. With chores, school, planting and just trying to keep up with Naru-other stuff......there was never time for nothing. It was actually kind of nice.

Sai just sat there on his spot on the branch, looking over the rooftops of Konoha and feeling quite content while Sasuke sat back against the body of the massive oak. Sai wasn't sure if Sasuke was doing it on purpose but the Uchiha looked pretty cool relaxing like that; one leg propped up to keep balanced while the other dangled off the edge, arms pillowing his head and eyes closed like he couldn't care about anything else around him. Whether Sasuke was sleeping or not, a loud rumble disturbed him. The 'yawn effect' kicked in and set off another rumble inside the other young teen's stomach. The ebony pair glanced at each other and somehow managed to share the same thought without sharing words. Food.

Sasuke led Sai to a dango stand on the east side of Konoha, where all the famous families lived. Sai however, considered them more numerous than famous. Almost everywhere he could pick out the distinctive feature he'd only ever heard of until now; the umber shades of the Aburame, the lavender tinted eyes of the Hyuuga and the ivory fangs of Inuzuka dogs.

It wasn't until the scent of baked dumpling dough wafted through the air that Sai realized he didn't have any money. It was okay though because, the stall owner owed the young Uchiha a favour for finding some runaway chickens a few days ago and saving him a week's worth supply. So, the ravenous pair wasted no time in diving straight into their meal with Sasuke practically growling as his teeth with a piece of stubborn meat filling stuck to the wooden skewer. That had made Sai giggle a little which only got him teased by Sasuke for having a girly laugh. No matter. Too hungry to care. They ordered another round, taking their time with this batch now that their appetite was sufficed. Sai spent the quiet time doodling swirls on his arm. From the corner of the artist's eye, he saw the Uchiha watching and quickly put his pen away.

"No, keep going," said Sasuke halfway though chewing. "I want to see what it turns into".  
Sai blinked but he felt a twitch of admiration. Lately, he'd been getting into trouble from Yamato for constantly drawing on himself. Apparently, it was bad for his skin. Yamato can be a real pain when he wants to.

"You planning on being a tattoo guy or something" The little artist bit into his food, not quite sure what to say. He'd never thought about that kind of stuff before. "You don't talk much do you?"  
Sai shrugged.

"Meh. It's okay. So what are you-"

"There you are, Otouto" A very deep voice that could have belonged to a fabled night demon appeared from behind the snacking pair and Sai's mouth hung open in complete awe.

He was standing right in front of an older, double version of Sasuke. The guy was just a few inches taller but emitted a strange, heavy aura. The hair was pretty long for a guy but it seemed to suit the guy's round face. He really did look like the double of Sasuke apart from the heavy bags under his eyes.

"What do you want, Aniki?" Sai quickly stuffed the last dango into his mouth. For some reason, this guy scared the little ebony and he couldn't believe that Sasuke could talk in such a brash tone.

"Because," the older guy started, "you're supposed to be helping Mother with the preparations. When Father finds out you ditched he's going to be pissed off too" Out of nowhere, the older guy poked Sasuke on the forehead quite sharply. "I'm just trying to do you a favour and save you from dealing with Father's temper. You've been pushing you're luck with him lately"

"Fine! Just quit nagging me already. Sai, I gotta go okay? I'll see ya around"

As Sai raised his hand to wave, he watched something amazing happen. Sasuke turned to walk by his Brother with a sour look on his face but, as he left his Brother's direct line of sight, the young Uchiha shot Sai a wicked sneer. In a split second, Sasuke swung hard at his older Brother's crotch, grabbed Sai by the arm and ran like fuck! Sai dropped the empty stick and nearly tripped over his own feet in the haste. Somehow they managed to turn two corners already when the howl of the demon roared behind them.

"Shit! I really pissed Itachi off this time. Hurry and climb!"

Sai wobbled when they suddenly stopped running for their lives and was amazed to see that they'd both somehow found their way back to big Oak. In no time, they scrambled high into the thickest set of leaves and branches but, also into the tightest. Sasuke was determined not to be found and seemed equally set on keeping Sai out of danger too. That could have been avoided by just not dragging me or not punching your Brother, Sai thought.

"Shhh, I can see him coming. Hold on to me so you don't fall"

Sai swiftly found himself being tugged by the waist and his chest pressed right against Sasuke's. The young Uchiha was looking down, his Brother several feet below and his heart beating hard next to Sai's. Seconds seemed to stretch but eventually, Itachi kept running and was far from sight. Sasuke let out a long and heavy sigh or relief and Sai no longer felt the rapid heartbeat next to him.

"So........that's your Brother, huh?"

"Yeah, he's an annoying douche"

"He's kinda short too" The leaves suddenly shook as Sasuke's laughter flew through the tree. It was then, that Sai felt his chest tighten. It wasn't like he even knew Sasuke well enough, he didn't even know him a day. However, Sai had the impression that the young Uchiha didn't smile much. It looked nice on him. When Sasuke could finally breadth again, he patted Sai on the back.

"So you do talk then. You're funny too"

XXXX

For what Yamato lacked in choice of colour and personality, he made up for in lining in Sai's opinion. Ever since his first night in this boring house, Sai had slept like a baby. Tonight though, his sweet slumber was disturbed by a series of noises. First, a loud tapping, then the patter of rain on the window, followed by more tapping with some heavier rain, then the drum of thunder clouds, then more tapping and finally, a loud sneeze.

It was half-assed but Sai managed to sit up and turn his head to the window. For a second, he was sure he saw two lights of red glowing from outside. It almost looked like they were staring at him. Sai reached over to his bed lamp. As light filled the room, Sai nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Sasuke at his window. With a dozen questions flying through his little ebony head, Sai rushed to the window, thrust it open and heaved Sasuke through it at the same time. The pair fell into each other and landed quite hard on the floor. Sai was so close to using his rarest loud voice but Sasuke covered his mouth with a hand to prevent it. The young Uchiha quickly got up and shut the window before the room could get as soaked as he was.

"Jesus!" The Uchiha exclaimed. "Do you drug yourself up or something before going to bed? It felt like I was banging that window for hours"

"Why were you even out there anyway? It's the middle of the night" Sasuke slumped to the floor, letting out a long sigh as he did.

"I know. I know. Look, I'm sorry alright? But I had to get away from that house. They're having a god-dammed party and it's still going on. I can't stand anyone there. Can I stay the night? Please?" Late evenings seemed to bring out the worst in Sai because even he could feel his face screw up in agitation. But then........

"You did buy me lunch. So, fine" Sai plucked himself from the floor and searched for that towel he left lying around. Luckily, it was dry and half clean so, it would do. When Sai turned around to give Sasuke something to dry off with, the young artist nearly squeaked with fright. "Woah! Why are you taking your clothes off?"

"They're soaked. Duh! Don't worry you pussy, I'm keeping my underwear on"

Sai just stood there, fiddling with the towel as Sasuke stripped and tossed his wet, over sized shirt on the floor along with his shorts. The boy still standing at the other end of the room could feel his knees shaking, unsure about what was going on in his stomach right now.

"Why...why are you getting into my bed?" Sai felt his throat tighten but he managed to keep his voice from quivering. What was coming over him, he kept thinking to himself.

"Like I'm gonna sleep on hardwood floor. Now hurry up and get in here already, the light is killing my eyes"

Again and again, so many thoughts were bouncing back and forth. None made any sense or hinted a solution. Nevertheless, Sai dropped the towel, walked to his bed, turned out the lamp and pulled the bed covers over himself and the boy who would be sleeping next to him tonight. Immediately, Sai made sure to turn his back against Sasuke and instinctively curled up. While the other ebony seemed to drift off in no time, the smaller was very aware of how much and how hard he was breathing.

Why is this happening? It's no big deal. He'd slept in the same bed with.... with Gaara and Naruto before. Dozens of times in fact so why was this so......frightening? Sai couldn't think of a time when he'd been half this scared. It almost felt like his heart would find it's way out of his throat.

Out of the blue, Sai let out a long yawn and the heavy, welcoming relief of sleep curled over him. Any moment now and all these weird thoughts would be gone and be no more than sleep gunk in his eyes in the morning. Until, a certain someone's arm found itself lain across Sai's shoulders and brought back every anxiety in an instant. It's okay. It's cool. He just rolled over in his sleep. It's okay. It's okay.

"Turn around, Sai"

The one now shaking like a cold leaf unintentionally gasped aloud when he heard his name. Just like earlier, when Sai's legs seemed to walk on their own, his body rolled itself over and forced the wide eyed boy to face the person calling his name. The red glowing from before, it was Sasuke's eyes. A deep ember red iris that seemed to stare inside whom they were gazing at, as if to take you in.

"Like my eyes, Sai?", said that deep, cool voice. "Tell me what else you like"

That arm had strength running through every muscle. It pulled Sai in with ease and moved him, something he should have seen coming but had forced himself to ignore the signs. His first kiss. With a boy! And with someone he literally only knew a day long.

"Like that?" Sai felt dizzy and feverish but nodded all the same. "Want more?"

Another nervous nod that seemed to happen on it's own. Sai's thin frame of a body was abruptly pinned down by strong hands and a heavy mass sat on his stomach. There was still some evening light coming in through the window, revealing the broad and very naked shoulders of Sasuke's body. The word 'sexy' appeared in Sai's mind and the meaning of it was looking down at him in its underwear.

The Uchiha lowered himself down, his mouth and teeth moving very close to Sai's hidden navel. Inch by inch, ivory fangs dragged the baggy, black t-shirt upward, Sauske pulled it up as high as it would stretch when he reached Sai's neck and quickly tugged it over the smaller boy's face but, the Uchiha didn't remove it. Sai was left blind and practically bound to his own bed. Something tingly was moving though his body. It was like when you had too much fizzy juice; that feeling your stomach could pop any moment if someone poked it roughly.

"Wha....what are you going to do?" Sai gulped. He could feel Sasuke moving lower down his half naked form, the weight that had been settling on his stomach now between his legs. Long, cold fingers tucked themselves into short, black boxers. A low and menacing chuckle echoed in the room.

"I'm going to eat you"

"NO. No. Don't do tha-ah!" Sai had never had the area around his belly button licked before but the sensation left him trembling all over. If he were still able to see, he'd probably have his eyes shut tight.

"You moan like a girl, Sai", Sasuke chuckled.

As the Uchiha spoke, the helpless Sai could feel his boxers slowly being pulled away from him. Very soon, he'd be totally exposed. It wasn't the thought of being naked in front of Sasuke that terrified the poor boy, it was the nightmare of being caught if all the noise he kept making woke up Yamato. Well, maybe the prior did take up a chunk of that terror.

"Well, look what I found" That evil laugh again. Why couldn't Sai just get up and punch Sasuke in the face? He wasn't really tied up and the Uchiha wasn't even sitting on the little, ivory skinned body any more. So why couldn't Sai move? Why was he letting someone he barely knew touch him in such a weird way?

"Because you like it, Sai" The frightened ebony gripped his sheets and swallowed a large lump.

"But.....but how? This isn't....supposed to feel.....good? Is it?"

A strange memory flashed over Sai's blind eyes. It almost felt like it happened a long time ago but the memories and the feeling were still so fresh to him. It was that night back at the camp when Sai had watched Naruto milking Gaara. Sai kept trying to forget it all but every thought he turned to only led back to that night. Now, weird thoughts like; 'did it feel good?' and 'what was is it like?' were popping up in Sai's mind no matter how hard he tried to shake them away.

"What...what are you going to do, Sasuke?"

"I told you", the Uchiha growled as he ripped away the final piece of cloth. "I'm going to eat. You. Up."

"Sasuke! Sasuke, wait!"

WHACK!!!!!!!!

"OW. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow" Sai clutched the massive throb on his head.  
He rapidly looked around and had to cover his eyes from the blinding light. After a few minutes of fighting a headache from hell, Sai could finally think and see straight. He was on the floor for one thing and so were half the bed sheets.

"Wha.....?" It took a moment but, "Sasuke?! What happened-!" No-one was around. Just Sai, in an empty room with the tossed up bed he'd fallen out of.

"Oh", Sai said to himself solemnly. "It wasn't real"

Sai began to lay his bumped body on the hard floor boards, just to rest his head and hopefully forget all that nonsense. How stupid could he have been to believe all that? Anyone with half a brain could have figured it out long ago and not needed to fall out the bed to realize it. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot! Then, like an a guardian angel, Sai saw something that lit up his dank and dreary day. It was a note with 'SAI' written on the front of the folded piece of paper.

.  
Hey Thanks 4 putting up with me last night. I'll make it up to ya  
P.S. She sounded like a good time. Cya l8r sheet humper!

What the? From there, the note suddenly acted like an arrow and it pointed itself straight at a large, wet patch that had spread all over the crotch of Sai's boxers. Sai dared to take a peek and cringed at the mass of sticky strings. For the rest of the morning, poor Sai lay hidden under his bed, failing to hide from his first and most embarrassing moment of his life.

XXXX

Our day to day habits are often the things that help us feel the most safe and secure. For some, forgetting to brush your teeth leaves you feeling more aware of them in that one day than you ever have before. Those who become so accustomed to having a certain item in the same place everyday can fall apart at the seams when it becomes misplaced. It's a mad concept but it's common to just about everyone. On the other hand, some only require a good cup pf tea to see the day through.

Sai was discovering his new daily habit was doing wonders for his drawing mojo. For the last week or so Sai and Sasuke had met up every day after school on their tree. Sasuke never seemed to want to do anything but nap in his usual spot against the trunk and always managed to make that look cool somehow. Sai just loved the view from up here. So much so that he would stuff his paper pad and best pencils into his backpack, with all the bulky books he had to carry, just so he could draw it all. It was worth the neck cramp from lugging that stuff all day.

Every day he tried something a little new; cross-hatch with Biro, solid colours, grey monotones and detailed. Today......why not try drawing Sasuke? The smaller ebony had never really tried to draw people before. For one thing, the only people he might have asked could never sit still. Sai's art teacher did say that life drawing is an essential skill for every artist. An hour passed by and Sai had already accomplished six proud sketches. He only had one good pen with him today, too much homework all due on the same day meant limited space in his backpack, but it was forcing the young artist to stretch his skills out. One more and that'll be enough for today.

This time try just the face to focus on the facial details. That's when Sai noticed a mean looking insect lingering over Sasuke's cheek. The smaller ebony recognized it as a chicker beetle. Who would have guessed that weird bug kid from class actually had some handy advice? That little thing can actually leave a nasty bite that itches like hell for days. It's easy enough to brush off though so Sai just leaned over to flick it away. Little did the poor ebony know that that was the moment Sasuke decided to wake up.

The next few seconds saw a new found friendship crash to the ground, literally. The Uchiha had opened his eyes, only to see the face of another guy very, very close to his own. Instinct, and a touch of something Sasuke would never believe, made him throw his fists at Sai's chest, knocking the smaller ebony off balance. It was fortunate but painful as he landed from the ten foot fall on the sharp bushes below. Through the twigs and thorns, Sai heard a bone chilling roar being thrown down at him.

"You faggot!! You try that again and you're dead! You hear me?"

The confused and prickled boy rolled off nature's needles. Sai looked up with bewilderment and questions in his eyes only to see a kind of look that made him feel so tiny and terrified. Then, like a black bird of prey, Sasuke swooped from the tree in one leap and landed with a force that shook the dirt beneath his feet. He stood over Sai, teeth gnashed and eyes shadowed by his thick, sharp bangs.

Sai's only wish was that he had the foresight to see the heavy sole aimed at his face. Poor Sai's cheek stung like hot needles were inside his skin. He pulled his hand away for a second and a deep red smudge on his palm. He stayed laid out on the ground, his face in the dirt and tears salting the wound. It wasn't until he couldn't hear Sasuke's fast running steps that he picked himself up and ran hard in the opposite direction.

XXXX

Now, every family has their golden child. In the Uchiha family, where talent and skill wasn't exactly few and far between, there was a figure of pure platinum that stood out above the rest, Itachi Uchiha. While the family have many offspring that were skipped ahead a year or two in education, Itachi was the first in several generations to be moved into high school at the age of eleven. His skills and talents were exceeded by his status and possibly, charm.

By senior year he'd already had his name on every qualified achievement there was to gain from athletics to academics despite the age requirements. However, the clever bastard seemed to have a way with words when it came to persuasion and he had managed to sweet talk the vice principle into ignoring the age restrictions and take a long vacation. Why he did that, no-one is quite sure why. There were few people he talked to and even less people he liked. Hell, he could probably count the number of people he actually cared about on his hand alone. One person he especially cared about and looked out for was his baby Brother, Sasuke.

It could have been sixth sense or something but he always had the feeling he could sense his Brother's moods, even from a far distance. The evening was creeping in over the air and leaving its mark along the twilight skies. It was the one evening in the week where both parents were out of the house and Itachi had the whole place to himself to just relax. While dozing on the wooden walkway that bordered their traditional style house, Itachi's gut tightened slightly and he felt an odd tingle along his knees.

What was Sasuke getting himself into now? Speak of the little black haired devil, here he comes now and he looks pissed. Still lying on his back, Itachi propped up his legs to block the door way. If there was one thing Itachi looked forward to was teasing his little Brother. It earned the elder Brother a kick to the shin but, forgetting how strong he was, sent the force of it straight back into Sasuke's foot. The poor kid winced and cursed but eventually gave up, knowing it'd be a waste of time and energy to try and escape. In his defeat, the younger planted himself down on the floor, legs crossed, arms folded and his face made itself very clear how pissed off it was.

"Asshole"

"Nice to see you too, Otouto. So, what happened?"

"Nothing", he grumbled.

"Doesn't sound like it. Have a fight with Sai or something?" Itachi didn't have to read Sasuke's body language to know he was right.

Sometimes being born a genius had it's quirks, even though it was child's play top figure it all out. Sasuke never had any friends, until last week. It made the older Uchiha happy and a touch sentimental even though he got punched in the dick. His little Brother didn't like being social. Their Father was too busy to notice anything that didn't glitter and their Mother just assumed her youngest had so many friends that he was too busy to be home all the time.

Itachi was the only one who knew and, until Sai came along, Sasuke's only friend. Itachi also knew Sasuke well enough to fake tease his little brother when he was genuinely concerned. Sasuke didn't like to be smothered over with affection. Itachi sat up, legs crossed.

"Sasuke", he said calmly. "Look at me" Sasuke did and got poked in the head quite sharply.

"What the fuck, Itachi?" Sasuke yelled, rubbing his forehead.

"Now tell me what happened between you and Sai or I'll do that every five minutes until you do" Sasuke, having been subjected to his older Brother's torture sessions for years, complied.  
"I don't talk to that faggot any more" Now that, earned Sasuke a violent punch to the back of the head, nearly knocking him over. "AH! Shit! What the a hell?"

"Since when are you fucking homophobic?!" Sasuke was suddenly scared shitless. That look in his Brother's eyes, it was like....looking into the eyes of someone who could kill barehanded.  
"Since that fa- he tried to kiss me"

A vulture like grip clutched Sasuke's jaw, digging deep enough to leave some nasty bruises to meet tomorrow. Too scared to hide his fear, Sasuke panted loudly and could feel each trickle of sweat crawl down his shaking neck and back. Itachi was really gonna let him have it this time.

"You've been bitten"

What?

"What?"

"You've got chicker bites. Now, tell me. Was Sai any closer to your face that I am now?" Sasuke shook his head, "Did he touch you in any way other than maybe having his hand near your face?" Sasuke shook again. "And what did you do?"

"I....kicked him"

Itachi let go and sighed heavily. "You're a big fool, do you know that?"

"What you on about?"

"You basically just kicked your only fucking friend for something he DIDN'T do! What's wrong with you? Drag your sorry ass back over to him and apologize it off!" Sasuke took either a brave or really stupid move and punched Itachi in the chest. Again, all it did was send the shock back and hurt like hell.

"What difference would it make now?" Sasuke pulled in on himself a little and started fiddling with his shoe laces. If the younger one was actually looking, he might have caught the sudden but sincere saddened expression on his Brother's face.

You don't know how lucky you have it sometimes, Sasuke. Yeah, Itachi was the platinum child of the large family that made up the Uchiha's but, what does that really mean? Top grades. Awards. Recognitions. Multiple future prospects. Loneliness. Solitude. Hiding. Yet, Itachi didn't envy his little Brother. Sasuke might not have the problems that Itachi kept to himself but it did not mean the little fool wasn't without his own share of problems too.

Their Father rarely had a word of praise for anything other than excellence. Sasuke's grades were good but not as good as Itachi's were at that age. Their Mother was overly motherly. Too much of good thing maybe but every teenage needs some breathing space. Sasuke could never get one the second he came through the door with Mother following him around half the house with a mouthful of questions. Itachi never got that kind of treatment. Everyone knew what he could do.

He didn't need Mother to ask over and over again, to see if there was anything worth mentioning to friends to make them jealous. Itachi knew that Sasuke hadn't intentionally isolated himself all his young life, but the elder figured the desperation for approval from those his younger Brother loved most had made the kid bitter. Itachi swung his legs over the edge of the platform; his feet were softly graced by the green grass below. There was tiny bud growing in front of his soles.

"Sasuke, what would you think if I told you I was gay?" The elder had expected a number of reactions but he hadn't predicted a silent one. His little Brother was just staring at him like a dog that was just shown a card trick.

"Who?" HA! Priceless. Not, 'what', or a 'you're lying' or some homo bashing slander. The little fool wanted to know who. As if, it might lessen the blow of it all somehow. Itachi smiled to himself and lay back on the platform again with his arms behind his head and legs dangling off the wooden edged surface.

"I'd like to tell you, Sasuke. But, I promised I wouldn't. Neither of us are ready to go public so, you realize I'm trusting you with this right?"

"Yeah.....sure. So......how long?"

"Nearly a year now. On my seventeenth birthday would you believe? We were both drunk as shit and it was the classic, 'one thing led to another'".

Itachi waited to hear what Sasuke had to say. The elder wasn't showing it but his heart was racing a thousand miles a minute. He'd broken the promise on a slim chance of acceptance from someone who'd already displayed his opinion toward the subject.

"Do you.....you know.....love this guy?" Well, that was a bit of a shocker.

"Yeah, I do. I even said that to him once, not too long ago either. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face", Itachi giggled lightly. Somehow he looked happy and close to retching all at once in Sasuke's eyes.

"Big Brother?"

"Yeah?" Here it comes. Itachi prayed to every God he knew and didn't believe in. Here's hoping.  
"I'll go apologize to Sai. He....probably wasn't trying to pull anything"

Phew. That was good to hear, even if it was all Itachi would hear from Sasuke about the subject. The younger Uchiha got up and started walking. Itachi didn't move. Half way between the house and the front gate-

"Hey, Itachi"

The elder sprang upward, a rare expression of surprise and hope over his face.

"I promise I won't tell anyone, especially Dad". Suddenly, Sasuke bolted and, just as suddenly, stopped at the front gate to yell one last thing. "I'm glad you found someone you love!"

Then he was gone. Itachi sat there, bewildered and dumbfounded probably for the first time in his life but proud as hell too. Now, all he had to deal with was the boyfriend he'd been hiding earlier. If he hadn't stopped Sasuke going through the doorway when he did, well it would have raised some awkward questions. Standing in the door way, now that Sasuke was out of sight, was Itachi's broken promise. In its underwear.

"Well. That was pretty ballsy of you, Itachi. We both agreed to never tell a soul"

The Uchiha kept quiet, still looking out at the front gate. Either he hoped saying nothing would make it all go away or just make the argument easier to bare. It's not easy being a pacifist when you tend to piss people off. A large, cold, but welcomed hand took hold of the back of Itachi's neck and gently caressed it.

"Think everyone else will take it as well as your little Brother did?"

"I doubt it. Not many people jump for joy when two blood related cousins become involved with each other. But, I think I'm content with just that little fool accepting me"

"You know, I could tell you were terrified. Did you really think he'd use it as a way to gain respect from your Father? Even if it meant you being disgraced by your whole family?" Itachi clutched that gentle hand that often helped ease all the tension this young genius carried around with him.

"I tried not to". They were both quiet for a while.

"Itachi....I love you too." Just a shame the first time Itachi had said it wasn't to the face of the guy it was meant for. Damn that Sasuke sometimes.

"Hey, don't get soppy on me, Shisui"

"Then can we please go back inside? My ass is freezing. Why I am always the one who gets stripped down first anyway?"

"'Cause you're my bitch"  
"Asshole"

"Love you, too."

XXXX

Poor little Sai could feel a dark void surrounding him. Something he hadn't felt in quite a long time. A deep, dark and lonely space all around that echoed the words, one after another and never ceasing. So many feelings were clawing at Sai's heart. Anger. Frustration. Confusion. Betrayal. Hate. They all screamed at the poor boy to lash out. To hurt everyone who hurt him. Only worse.  
Hadn't he blocked out these kind of feelings long ago? The way he was taught? How could one person....no how could all of them do this to him? Danzo had been right. What did Sai do to deserve all this though?

It wasn't fair. The only friends he'd ever had abandoned him like an empty cola can. His chance for a new friend and....maybe something more had kicked him out. Threw him away. Now there was no one. It's better this way. No-one can hurt you if you're on your own. Nobody can dump you like an old toy. Nobody can tug you on a leash. It's much better to be alone, right? Everything will be all right now?

Sai knew he was only kidding himself. He'd long forgotten what that old fascist had tried to teach him before Kurenai found him. Sometimes he's wished that woman had never taken him away from there. How had everything managed to rot away so quickly? He'd been so happy. Happier than he ever thought could exist inside him. And love. He tried to brush that silly feeling away long ago but, it was still there. Like it mattered now.

Poor Sai. He'd hidden himself away in Yamato's greenhouse and was tucked in-between the tall, thick stems of the sunflowers. Even if there was someone who might give a damn, Sai didn't want to be seen. He'd curled up as tight as a seed in dry soil. Hidden away in darkness. Alone. Away. Never to be seen or found.

"I found him, Gaara!" Sai's heart nearly popped out of his chest. He fell back, legs and arms flailing and crushing a couple of the sunflowers along the way. A red head and a blonde appeared above him. One was smiling brightly, the other a little cautious.

"You always were the best at hide and seek, Sai", said Gaara. "Although, I doubt you've been hiding in here the last two weeks. Where have you been anyway? We missed you"

At that moment, Sai could feel his throat closing up. His whole body trembled from tip to toe and finally, he shattered. He shot up from the ground and wrapped his arms around Naruto and Gaara as tightly as he could. His heart wanted to cry out so badly but he'd sworn a long time ago he'd never do that again. No matter how much it hurt. It was getting harder and harder to keep so much in. So many times he just wanted to say sorry. Had all this been his own fault? Could he ever make it right again? Gaara tried to shrug Sai off but the little ebony just held on tighter.

"NO!" He finally cried out. "Please don't leave me again. I can't take that again!"

Again? What the hell? Naruto was much stronger than both his friends put together and was able to take Sai by the shoulders and force a gap between them. The look in the blonde's was the only thing keeping Sai from fighting back. Gaara quickly jumped in before Naruto could say or do anything that might make this all worse somehow.

"Sai", the red head said firmly, placing a hand on Sai's shoulder, "why would you think that? Did you think we had ditched you or something?" Sai nodded shakily, his eyes shut closed. "Why?"  
His pale lips quivered but Sai managed to work out a mumble. "I saw you two....kissing, back at the hot springs. So, I left"

A little bell chimed in Gaara's mind. This was why he always left class first before Naruto or Gaara had the chance to catch up? This is why they haven't been able to find, play, or even talk with him for nearly two weeks.

"Sai....", Gaara sighed the name in a low, long syllable before taking his own hand and using it to give Sai a good whack to the back of the head.

"OW!" The little ebony yelped and looked up at Gaara with shocked eyes. Even Naruto had to do a double take at that move.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sai?" Gaara scolded. "I know you don't like to talk about that kind of stuff but, come on! If you'd said something, you could have joined in. We've been worried sick about you!"

Sai body language molded itself into something hinting curiosity. "Join in?"

"Yeah", Naruto finally burst in. "It's always more fun when it's all three of us and who says kissing's just for two people? Here, I'll show ya!"

Sai barely had the chance to blink before he got pounced on, but he couldn't think of a better place to be. Naruto was all over Sai; hands holding his shoulders down, knees on either side of his legs and rough, chapped lips pressed over thin, pale ones. Trust Naruto to take a first kiss in such a crude way. This time though, it was a real first kiss so what did it matter?

"Your turn, Gaara", Naruto called over his shoulder only to see the red head looking through the some of the untrammeled sunflowers stems. "Hey, you in there? We can't leave you out on all the fun. What are you looking at?"

"I thought just I saw Yamato outside the window", Gaara replied coolly.

Then Sai immediately bounced up, toppling Naruto over like the blonde weighed no more than a paper clip.

"Just kidding."

Gaara was then mauled by his friends for scaring the crap out of them like that. They laughed and laughed until their sides nearly split. They were together again. Gaara had lied though. He had seen someone outside the window looking inside and catching a glimpse of Naruto and Sai kissing together. However, there could have been a number of reasons for Sasuke Uchiha to have been out there. On the other hand, Gaara could only think of one for that look of absolute rage glaring in Naruto's direction. Gaara knew he was going to have to keep an eye on that guy with the blood red eyes


	11. A Friend Called Uchiha Pt 2

How Orphan Boys Play

Chapter 11

The bang and clang of the old bell signalled the end of the day for Konoha Junior High. A good few hundred, hyped up teens ploughed their way through the halls and left scattered bits of paper and trash as the escaped through the only main door in the entire building. On days when Sai had classes that weren't shared with Naruto and Gaara, he'd wait until the hustle subsided before even leaving the classroom. He'd spend those mad minutes that made up the end of the day clearing things way, take his time to his books away or sometimes just sit and wait until things got quiet.

It's not like anyone noticed anyway. Even the teachers would dash out the class and Sai was in no rush to meet anyone or do anything that quickly. Both Naruto and Gaara had clubs; the blonde was kept busy with sports and the occasional detention duties while Gaara had a book swap group. There weren't any art clubs. There was only one art teacher who, despite being fully dedicated to his job, was too over worked to put in the extra unpaid hours for a club. Most days out of the week, Sai walked home alone.

The hallways were eerie but peaceful when no one was around. No squealing girls. No moany attention seekers clinging to arms of idiots who kept giving them the attention they wanted. No burly brutes throwing their weight around to compensate for their lack of wit in their tongue. So, when Sai hear stomping steps coming toward him, the noise boomed from wall to wall as if warning the little ebony of an imminent danger. Sai had almost sussed where it was coming from when he was grabbed from behind by the shoulders, flipped around and slammed into his locker. His ebony head left a ricochet bump but the loud bang of metal being crushed under a punch made him freeze instantly.

"Look, don't freak out okay?"

"You don't make that easy, Sasuke"

"Just shut up and listen" Sai didn't have much choice. He was pretty sure that locker was stronger than him and you could practically see the shape of the Uchiha's fist in it now. Naruto had always taught Sai how to stick up for himself and it had a handful of times when they were smaller but, this guy.....that look in Sasuke's eyes never failed to make Sasuke's legs shake. However, something about the way Sasuke was standing looked oddly withdrawn; while one hand was still set against the locker next to Sai's head, doing its best to shake Sai up, the other was tucked away into a deep pocket. The taller ebony was hunched over slightly, his head turned away to stare down an empty hallway. "I'm sorry alright. I was talking to by Brother and even though he talks bullshit most of the time.....fucking smart-ass. I'm just sorry okay? I shouldn't have hit you. You didn't even do anything wrong. I fucked up" That probably had to be the most Sai had ever heard Sasuke speak in one go. If Gaara could hear how much this guy swore, the red head would have a heart attack. Sasuke leaned back, hiding both hands in his pockets and half his face beneath the collar oh his shirt. Sai was only just noticing that Sasuke's clothes looked a little big for the young Uchiha.

"You're not used to apologising are you?" At least, that was the impression Sai got. The smaller ebony could relate; before and even after he became friends with Naruto and Gaara, Sai was never very good around people. He used to have a bad habit of saying weird or rude things to people. He didn't really care if it made them mad. Idiots should be pointed out for the idiotic things they say and do. In his view he was being honest but it left him with few bruises from bigger kids. As a result, Sai learned from a very young age that it was better to keep your mouth shut. Sasuke seemed to bring out the inner voice in Sai though.

"Never really had to. Not even to my old man. Look can we.....keep hanging out?" This time, Sasuke was the one to look up and half flinched at the dead-like stare looking back. It was like Sai had slipped on some kind of cold mask. For a second Sasuke thought Sai was going to spit on him or something.

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do"

XXXX

It was almost like nothing had ever happened. The dark haired pair were perched on their branch, silent as ever with nothing out of the ordinary. Except for one odd thing; Sasuke was sitting particularly close to Sai for some reason, enough to look over the smaller ebony's shoulder and clearly see what he was sketching. Neither of them said anything about the change. Sasuke had most likely said everything he wanted to for the next month anyway.

"I saw you kissing that blonde kid from our home-room class" The pencil in Sai's hand snapped in half and his eyes twitched erratically. The Uchiha hadn't taken his own eyes off the sketching paper that now had a huge black line across the drawing that Sai had been working on. Sai tried to say something but forgot how to move his mouth, let alone form words with it. "You hear me". Sasuke was oddly calm. How was he to freak out so easily over the small stuff but _this_ he keeps a cool face? Uchiha's are weird. "You've ruined your drawing" Sai suddenly felt shaky. Sasuke had seen him kiss Naruto, a boy! The smaller ebony wasn't sure if his friends were aware but, Sai knew full well that boys kissing is a BIG no no. If it was then his male class mates would be talking about it like all the girls do. They were always giggling over boys the liked and there were whispers about girls who liked girls but _no-one _mentioned boys who liked boys.

"I won't tell anyone" Oh? Well, that's slightly reliving in a way. Right? "Oh, on one condition though". Oh no. What did that mean? It's going to be something like stealing or punching Sasuke's short but really strong looking older Brother. No way! Sasuke's imagination was far more wicked than that but then, that could just be leftovers from Sai's imagination. "I wanna sit with you guys at lunch tomorrow"

Say what?

"That's it?" Sai croaked. He knew he shouldn't have asked but-"Why?"

"My Pain-in-the-ass Brother seems to thing I don't have enough friends. So, I might as well get to know whoever a friend with you is. Deal?" Sai nodded so much his neck could have snapped off. With all that said and done, the pair clicked back into place. Sasuke even took up his classic cool-pose against the tree, leaving Sai to doodle away in quiet anticipation.

XXXX

Lee was on his fiftieth hand-stand-push-up when Gaara staggered through the door, dragged himself the living room and slumped heavily into the thick, green cushions of the family couch. After ten more push-ups, Lee switched arms.

"A long day?" The bowl cut asked.

"A Long week"

"Let me finish this off and I'll get the munchies". It was a little ritual the Brothers managed to perform at some point or another without really noticing at first. The often found themselves nibbling on stuff they could find in the cupboards whenever they had to talk about stuff. Not every day stuff, otherwise Lee would be working off a sugar gut. Instead, it was the annoying crap you just need to get off your chest every now and then. Two weeks ago, Gaara was Lee's sentimental shoulder to cry on when the older Brother had asked someone he liked out and got rejected. The green athlete didn't mention who but, Gaara was too clever to fool and Lee was too simple to hide anything in a clever manner. Still, even Gaara was surprised to hear Lee about trying to ask that pink haired girl from his math class out. Although, Gaara had the slight feeling his Brother didn't ask in the traditional way most people ask a person to go out with them.

Big Gai wouldn't be home until late tonight, he has a meeting to attend to again, so the boys were free to talk as long as the needed. They deeply care for the green giant but........he tends to over exaggerate any situation even made Lee groan. Sometimes you just want to moan for the sake of moaning.

"So what's up, Gaara?" Lee ripped open a pack of Oreos. "Did something happen with Sai again? I thought you guys all made up?" The red head took a handful of the black and white biscuits and popped a whole one into his mouth before saying anything. There's nothing like good comfort food that's bad for you.

"We did. We even found out why he was avoiding us. Plus, that Sasuke Uchiha really knows how to stir things up"

"Woah! Sasuke's part of your little orgy now too?"

"I don't know what that means and I'm not asking." Lee just chuckled to himself and tussled his little Brother's hair up.

"I'm sorry", he laughed. "So, you found out why he was avoiding you guys right?" Gaara took a little while to answer, letting an Oreo just sit half way in/out of his mouth like he forgot it was there.

"He saw me and Naruto kissing and he got the idea in his head that we were going to leave him out".

"Then what happened?"

"We finally found him and I smacked the idiot out of him. But, it turns out he made a new friend in our absence and you won't believe half of what happened this week." Lee handed over the remaining half packet, indicating that they had all night and he was here to hear it all. Gaara still couldn't believe most of what went on. Most of it he was sure no one else knew was aware. I was enough of a surprise to see that Sasuke guy looking though the green-house. An even bigger surprise was to find Sai inviting Sasuke over to their lunch table. It was weird to say the least; Sasuke was the most popular kid in the whole school, despite his antisocial attitude towards other people. So why was he sitting with the Weirdo Trio? Needless to say it attracted a lot of attention from curious eyes all over the cafeteria but Sasuke gave them all some kind of look that Gaara couldn't see that made them all mind their own business. Not a word passed between them. Even Naruto just chewed away at his lunch. All the while though, both Sasuke and Naruto never looked away from each other.

They each stared at one another intently and Gaara was half convinced there sending each other death threats telepathically. Out of the blue, a voice called out to Sai from across the lunch hall. It was the art teacher, Mr Ibiki. He was really big and had plenty of deep scars to show off but, once had a paint brush In his hand, he was as soft as clay. As Sai stood up and walked over, Gaara suddenly had a heavy, sinking feeling in gut, like a tornado was about to hit and his body was trying to weigh itself down. Naruto made the first move.

"What you up to, Uchiha?"

"None of your fucking business, Loser. Can't a guy sit where he wants for lunch in your world?"

"Bull shit and you know it". Gaara attempted calling out to Sai using to his own thoughts but didn't have much luck.

"Not as dumb as he looks. Fine. I'll lay it out for ya then. You're gonna fuck it up with him sooner or later and when that happens, his ass is _mine_." There was a savage look in Sasuke's eyes that really creeped Gaara out but, it was Naruto's eyes that scared him more. He knew where that look could lead. "He's happier being with me anyway. Even a loser like you can see that" Gaara clutched Naruto's arm desperately but it went unnoticed. "Like _you_ could make anyone happy"

Oh-no. Naruto don't. Please calm down. He doesn't know what we all went through. He's trying to get you mad on purpose. Please don't fall for this!

"What the fuck do you know?" Naruto growled. His whisker marks curled as he snarled and Gaara could swear he saw the blonde's hair flare of it's own accord.

"I know he'll never let you get as close to him as I already have. Just face it", Sasuke pushed his arms against the table to lean a little closer. A long sneer spread across the Uchiha's face. "He loves me"

Lee stayed very quite. He'd seen his little Brother stressed out before and this wasn't the worst level it could reach but, he could see the hurt in Gaara's eyes.

"If Sasuke had said 'like' or 'he wants to be my friend' or something like that, Naruto might not have flipped out so bad. I haven't seen him that angry since....the bad days". Gaara had mentioned these 'bad days' before but the red head never went into further detail.

"What happened?" Lee asked cautiously.

"He.... let it out. He jumped right over the table and just...grabbed Sasuke by the neck" It had been viscous and relentless. Sasuke had probably seen it coming because he grabbed Naruto's wrist half way down the fall and tossed the blonde right over his head and threw Naruto over an adjacent table. Before chatter and curiosity could even spread through the cafeteria, Naruto leapt back after wiping food from his eyes and was on Sasuke in second. Uproar began. Swipe after strike. Blow after kick. Some were cheering and goading the pair on as they beat each other senseless. Two, looked on helplessly.

"Gaara," Lee spoke softly as he placed a hand on his little Brother's shoulder, "you okay?" Lee wasn't sure if Gaara was aware he was hugging his own knees. Lee had only seen Gaara do that after a bad nightmare.

"That...that son of a bitch planned the whole thing" Woah. This is really bad.

The pair of fighters had to be pried apart by teachers and didn't come out of Head Master Sarutobi's office for a really long time. Gaara doubted either Naruto or Sasuke said anything about why they were fighting. When they were led out of the office door, the little red head kept himself hidden around the corner. Sai appeared from down the hall, he must have skipped class. Before Sai even reached the pair, Sasuke was walking off; his hands in his pockets and face unfazed by anything around him. However, Gaara was the only one to notice that Sasuke didn't leave, he just hid himself near set a of large lockers.

"He couldn't see me, but I saw him and that fucking smile of his. He was lovin' it, Lee. He knew Naruto would say something to hurt Sai. He knew exactly how to fuck with their heads"

Gaara prayed from his little hiding spot that Sasuke's plan wouldn't work but he could already see the massive collision about to happen.

"Sai.....", Naruto huffed like was desperately trying to hold something back. They were eye to eye with barely a blink between them. "Tell me now. Who do you care about more, him or us?" No, Naruto don't. Please. We nearly lost Sai already. Keep your cool.

"Why....why would you think-?" Sai's brow quickly furrowed and he levelled up against Naruto. "Fine" Oh-no. "That's how you want to think, then fine". Sai turned on his heel and bolted straight out the swing doors. As the sound of the door frame screeched against the floor, down the hall Little Gaara watched as his beloved blonde friend broke down. He watched as Naruto bloodied his knuckles by bashing them them into the stone floor and how that......monster was holding his stomach as he held in the laugh.

"I didn't know what to do, Lee. I know I should have told Sai what was going on but we early lost his once already. He would have thought I was spying on him, like I no longer trusted him.

"Gaara....", Lee sighed as he wrapped an arm around his little Brother and let Gaara rest his head against Lee's shoulder.

"I was really glad he made a new friend though", Gaara mumbled. "None of us could do that before. That's how we managed to become friends because no-one else liked us. He made a _real _friend"

_But you did make real friends, Gaara. You love them and they love you_

"He's not talking to us again and, this time, it was out fault. Sasuke took him from us because we let him"

"What's stopping you from getting him back then?" Gaara suddenly looked up with bewildered and slightly watery eyes. Lee briefly wandered if the dark rims around Gaara's eyes might smudge if the red head started sobbing. "You heard me. Since when did you and Naruto take a slap on the hand and sit in the corner?" Lee stood up in one quick motion. His arms were folded across his chest and he was facing away from Gaara slightly, as if looking into the beyond.

"You've got passion got passion, Gaara. Every day since I met I've seen you push yourself, as well as your friends, forward. Yet, sometimes when you see someone who doesn't want to move ahead, you force yourself to stay with them". The elder Brother looked over his shoulder, a conclusive look in his fish-like eyes. "You've got to eb the one who keeps everyone on track, Gaara. There's a lot of people who rely on someone like you. They need you love for them to keep them going"

"My....love?"

"YES!" Lee declared as he struck the air with his fist. In a second he clutched his little Brother's hand, yanked the red head up from the floor and added a spin for good measure. " We love those who are most precious to us, even if we're not the most important person to them. But you do have someone who loves you dearly and really needs you now. Will you be there for them?"

"I'll always be there for them!" Gaara exclaimed before even thinking. He even looked angered by the question.

"Even if you're no longer precious to them as much as you want to be?" That, caught Gaara off guard but only for a second. He took a step back, his invisible eyebrows met. Lee stepped aside and watched a blur of red hair rush by him and out the door.

"I'm a little worried, " Lee said to himself. "If he ends up having sex before I do". xxxx

Pythagoras can go to hell! Logic and mathematics never equate well with arty kids and Sai's inky little world was struggling to fight off the onslaught of calculations. All Sai's maths book had scribbled on it were a few triangles, some badly attempted formulas and probably ten doodles for each answer he scored out. Yamato was useless at this stuff too. You'd think a guy who measures and calculates on a regular basis would know something about this. The plant man was baffled at the notion of mathematics using letter as well as numbers. A few bangs of the head to the desk later and still no answers.

"That's some study tactic you've go there". Sai jerker up. His open window, that looked over his desk had a guest leaning on it's edge. Sai had a momentary image of a mortified Yamato if the man could see Sasuke climbing up his prize wining wall roses.

"Why can't maths be easier?"

"Same reason why not everyone can draw"

"That's not the same thing, Now help me", Sai growled as he tossed a pencil at Sasuke, missed and it fell it out the window.

"What makes you think I'm any good?" Sai looked up from his torn/doodled/crumpled homework sheet with an odd look on his face. The Uchiha knew fine well what the little ebony meant. Sasuke may not be the pride and joy of the family but, he was too far off from a perfect academic record. However, that didn't exactly mean he was any good at teaching. It'd be like trying to teach a frog how to purr.

"Why are you climbing up the side of my house anyway?" If Sai wasn't going to get any help with his homework, he might as well talk about something more interesting. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, his impassive face gazing across the wide yard that made up Yamato colourful garden. He slowly looked back at Sai with a light curl in his lips.

"I thought I'd try my hand at being romantic". That curl became a grin at the sight of a blush blooming over Sai's cheeks. The Uchiha made a gesture, asking Sai to come closer. Those damn eyes. They weren't the same from Sai's dream but, something about them were just so alluring to the little ebony. Sai popped his head out of the window, almost face to face with Sasuke when he realised the young Uchiha's expression changed the closer the little ebony moved. There was this quick flicker of nervousness and quivering gap between Sasuke's lips. Sai just held his place, bent over on all fours on his wooden desk. He wasn't going to do anything that Sasuke didn't want him to do; not unless the little ebony wanted to be thrown out of a window. A pale hand, that could probably knock Sai out in one blow and hold him down like a weak kitten, reached out almost fearfully. Another steadily followed until the Sai could feel his face being held by sweaty palms. Maybe if Sai closed his eyes it would make this easier for Sasuke. This wasn't like the dream at all. Sasuke seemed more like...well Sasuke in Sai's dreams compared to now. The young Uchiha reminded the little ebony of that really shy girl with the blue hair from their English class.

Eventually, Sai could feel faint but rapid breaths near his lips. He took a peek and saw Sasuke's eye were shut tight, his brow twitching with trickles of sweat ready to run down his nose. Just before Sai could relive the his dream induced fantasy, he woke Sasuke up. Sai brought up his hand and covered Sasuke's mouth. The Uchiha hadn't let go but his eyes widened dramatically. Despite the barrier over his mouth, Sasuke jerked forward a fraction like he was about to protest but faltered and turned away. Sai couldn't tell if Sasuke looked more ashamed than embarrassed.

"But....", Sasuke down at his knees, he seemed to be searching for something. "Please. Just one, Sai. I need to know if-"

"You're not gay" Sasuke visibly flinched at the last word. It could have been a moment of instinctive rage but the Uchiha raised his fist. However, Sai was quicker and caught Sasuke by the nose, bringing him to eye level. "You're _not _gay"

"How do you know that?" Sasuke's voice came out in humorous, nasal tone but Sai was in no mood to find it funny.

"Do you think about my penis?" The Uchiha nearly choked and squirmed when he tried to pull away with his nose still trapped. "Would you milk yourself with thoughts of me in your head? If I took your shirt off and started licking you, would you like it?" Sai could feel the volcanic heat radiating from Sasuke's reddening face. The poor Uchiha never looked so helpless and probably felt enough humiliation to last him ten life times. Sai let go and was surprised to see Sasuke hadn't decided to jump right out the window and run for dear life.

"You don't have to be gay to be my friend"

".......but, that Naruto guy?" Sauke was cut short by a peculiar look on Sai's face. He was smiling but it looked so out of place as if it was a rare facial expression the smaller ebony was quite sure how to use yet.

"We've loved each other for a long time"

"Oh. So, I really don't have to, you know, kiss you and-", the Uchiha grimaced as Sai's previous and graphic terms came back to haunt him. "-stuff?" Sai shook his head, still smiling.

"Nope. But-", Sai moved like a dart and landed a peck on Sasuke's still crimson cheek. "I get to kiss you whenever I want" Sasuke wiped at face viciously.

"Eeeeewwwwww, Gay germs!" Sai then slid back across his desk and sat in his chair.

"Now, if you're not going to help me with this then go and ask that girl you've been eyeing up since the start of the year." Sasuke didn't even bother to the let the embarrassment hit him because he was happy enough to have an excuse to go but, he did leave with a casual wave as he hurriedly climbed back down the wall roses. Sai heard his friend land and waited a few minutes until he was sure Sasuke had left. He then ripped a sheet of square-paper from his maths notebook, scribbled something in it, folded it into a basic paper-plane and aimed out the window into the garden where, he was sure Gaara was hiding. Sasuke may have had too much on his mind to notice but Sai could spot that red mop-head a mile away without even trying.

It took longer than Sai would have liked but, eventually, Gaara started climbing up the wall. Did none of his friends know how to use a door? Gaara used to be really good at keeping a blank face just like Sai but lately he'd lost his natural touch for the skill. Sai took no notice of Gaara's shame and just help up his homework assignment.

A couple of hours passed by with only Gaara speaking. Sai would just nod whenever the Gaara asked if he understood the equation. Sai was left handed and Gaara was right handed. Their free hands sat on the edges of their own chairs with just a short space between each other. The ebony closed his note book when the final problem was solved and turned his head to Gaara with an unblinking stare. The little red head tired to keep his cool but bit his lip out a nervous habit he'd picked up somewhere. Sai quickly reached into his pocket, pulled out his reliable black marker, clutched Gaara by the chin and pushed the nib against his red headed friend's forehead. When Sai let go, Gaara presses a palm to whatever mark the ebony left there. The ink residue on his small hand was the outline of a heart.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Gaara"

"Su-Sure. That's okay"

"Kiss on it?" The red head couldn't help but burst into giggles and felt bubbles of happiness in his tummy when Sai pulled him in for a bunch of fun kisses all over his face.

Wow. These last two chapters took so long to get through. I'm trying to get out of this bad habit of writing everything down by hand and then typing it out cause it just takes so god damn long. Right, now for the main point, I will be editing previous chapters to this story. I feel like I've gotten better at some of my writing skills through this story and, thanks to my good friend Zimm, I've had some great inspiration for new ideas for this sotry as well as others. I've still got a pocket full of ideas for Orphan Boys but, for now, I wanna focus on making what I already have better. Hope you all enjoy. R&R. Thanksfolks. Also, there may be a few mistakes in this chapter and the previous because they were very long and tiresome to write at points but hopefully I found them all ^_^ bye!


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